Time Does Not Heal Everything
by iluvh0rs3s
Summary: (Sequel to Everything Has Changed, please read that first to understand) It has been over a year since the traumatic events in Will DiMera's life. Has he been able to move on and move forward in his life? Is it even possible to after everything? Can time really heal all wounds, or are some too deep to be treated?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note- This is the part 1 sequel to "Everything has Changed" and takes place about a year after that story. A huge thank you and lots of credit goes to JKing88 for help and advice on this story, and the idea for the part 1 ending. Please read and review. Warning: If you have not read, "Everything Has Changed" this might be a little confusing. Also, major angst and character death._

* * *

Will DiMera, formerly Will Horton, carefully woke up as the sunlight streamed into the window of his room in the expansive villa. He did not know what time it was, as there was no clock on the table by his bed, but he assumed it was early since the sun was not beaming through his window. The villa his father had gotten for him in Tuscany sat in the middle of nowhere, but it had everything he ever needed and/or wanted. He still had trouble believing he was able to be someplace as beautiful as this after everything that had happened, but here he was.

He was not completely alone in the house, but it was enough for him. His bodyguard, Rocco, was most likely nearby and able to be ready at a moment's notice, plus there were the caretakers for the house, and a chef that could be called on. The villa was not tiny by any means, but it was the perfect size for Will. He needed to be away from everyone, especially after everything that had happened. It was too hard to be around people, and while he was getting better, he still was a long way away from being normal and happy again.

Six months after Sonny Kiriakis came back to town and had learned the truth of what happened to Will and Arianna Grace's death, Victor had Will arrested on suspicion of computer hacking and corporate espionage. Stefano had gotten Will to hack into Titan's computer system and steal a trade secret for a major deal they were hoping to go through. They were able to trace the computer back to a computer that had been formerly owned by DiMera Enterprises, but there was no proof as to who did it. But Victor suspected that Will was the only one capable of doing it and the D.A. had hoped that they would be able to turn Will against Stefano and make a deal. But it backfired completely. The charges obviously did not keep him locked up for very long, but the entire incident set Will back completely in his recovery. He had gotten to a point where he could handle being in public for certain periods of time and around people, and now that was no longer the case. Being put in handcuffs reminded him too much of when he had been kidnapped and tied up, and he refused to leave his room for days once he was released. At the police station, he refused to talk to anyone, and even when Hope had tried to get a lawyer for Will, he saw through the charade and told them he wanted the lawyer Stefano hired for him. Chad and Stefano had taught Will all the different tricks the police department and the FBI would try to use to trick him, plus he had a secret code the lawyer was supposed to say to him right away, which Hope's lawyer had no idea about and thus did not say.

He had started freaking out in interrogation, and began hurting himself in an attempt to get free from the restraints. He had been cuffed to the table in an effort to make sure he could not escape, but it forced him to flashback to when he had been kidnapped and the writer, the only way he could think of that man, had him tied up and bound to a table, laid out for him to enjoy. The investigators and the lawyer tried to stop Will, but their attempts only made things worse. Will did not see the poepl in the room, and could only feel hands grabbing at him, touching him and beating him to make him submit. Will had slammed the table down to the ground and bloodied and nearly broken his wrists in an attempt to get free, and they almost called a psychiatrist to evaluate Will. Thankfully, Chad had shown up with Will's real lawyer, and the lawyer threatened legal action against everyone before they finally let Will go. Hope and Roman had tried to get Will medical attention, but Will scathingly told them all to go to hell and leave him alone.

Chad brought Will back to the mansion, and, after the doctor Chad had brought to the mansion had looked at Will and bandaged his wrists, Will's fears took hold of him. The doctor had made the mistake of speaking out loud and said that he felt Will would be better off in a hospital where doctors could supervise him, and that sent Will off into a tailspin. He begged Chad to not make him go back to the police station or be locked in a hospital, and cried that he would do whatever Chad and Stefano wanted. Chad's heart broke at the sight of the man who he thought of as his little brother shaking and sobbing at the thought of being locked up again. He held Will for a while and promised to do whatever it took to make sure Will would feel safe wherever he was.

Chad feared that whatever Victor was planning would come through and hurt Will again, and he took action. He spent the next few days researching what needed to be done to make Will safe, and convinced Stefano to let Will leave the country for a while and live away from Salem. Stefano was not happy about it, but understood that there was a danger for Will to live in Salem. Will eventually agreed to leave, but he fought it at first, and offered to continue working for DiMera Enterprises while he was away. He wanted to prove that he was useful to the family, and that they would not just abandon him. He didn't want to leave Salem; he wanted to show that he was capable of being a true DiMera and said that he would just continue to stay in the mansion away from everyone. He could be safe if he was kept away from people and out of sight. But Chad pleaded with him to go, and promised that it was not because he was a burden. Will could still hear Chad's pleas in his mind.

" _Will, I promise you; you are a part of this family. But you are not safe here. I need you to be safe. Victor is going to keep coming after us, after you, and I need to make sure he will no longer have an opportunity to hurt you again. You don't deserve it. After everything they have put you through, you deserve to be somewhere you can be free and happy. That is not here right now."_

Will ended up agreeing to go, but still felt that as soon as he got to his destination, he would be left there and forgotten. But Stefano surprised him and proved he was not going to leave Will. He actually traveled with Will to Tuscany and stayed for a few weeks, making sure Will ate and took care of himself. Will worried he was becoming a further burden to Stefano, and promised that he would be okay if Stefano needed to leave. Will had ended up seeing a completely unknown side of Stefano, and it was so surprising, especially when Stefano held him close and comforted him after he found him crying over a nightmare. While Stefano had not changed completely, and was still as ruthless as ever, he had shown Will a more caring side of him, and it made Will want to make Stefano proud even more than he had before. He was not stupid or naïve; he knew that Stefano was using him and probably manipulating him, but it just no longer mattered to Will. He had been manipulated by people all his life. At least Stefano was honest about what he expected and wanted. And he was not being blackmailed into doing anything.

Getting out of bed and changing, Will thought about what he would do for the day. He knew Rocco would be in soon to check on him, as he did every day, and would then go through an itinerary of anything Stefano needed done. It surprised Will how comfortable he felt around Rocco. He knew very little about the man, besides the fact that he had been working for Stefano and Chad for over 2 years, and that he had come from a rough background. Whatever had happened in the past had made him sensitive to what Will went through, and he seemed to just understand when Will could be touched and when he needed space. Rocco was the only other person besides Stefano and Chad that Will felt safe around. Even the gardener and housekeepers were not allowed to get too close to Will.

Will was grateful for the fact that everyone in the house seemed to understand Will's need for space. It had been the hardest on the housekeeper, a little Italian woman who wanted to mother Will as soon as she met him. Her husband was the gardener, and they spent most of their days in and around the villa. She did not understand Will's need for space until he had his first nightmare. Nightmares had plagued him constantly since his horrible experience in Salem, and while usually he was able to keep quiet and just wake up, this one trapped him in and forced him to relive everything that had happened to him. He had screamed and cried out, and when the housekeeper came into the bedroom to comfort him and wake him out, he struck her in his sleep and lashed out at her. He immediately felt guilty when he woke up fully, but the woman did not hold a grudge. She tried to get him to talk about it, but Rocco and Stefano had stepped in and forced the woman to leave. Her and her husband were now sleeping in the opposite wing of Will in the villa, and Rocco made sure no one was able to get access to Will's room except for him.

Will had recently begun working out again, and found that running helped him to clear his head and focus his anger and fears. He also began lifting weights and boxing, with Rocco spotting and instructing him. A part of him felt worried that he was relying too much on Rocco, but when he spoke those fears out loud, Chad again had convinced him that he needed to learn to depend on someone. And Rocco assured him that he would not leave any time soon.

The hardest part about being in Italy was the fact that he was so far away from Arianna Grace's grave. He used to spend every day out at her grave, talking to her or just lying on the ground in front of her grave. Chad knew it was not healthy, and part of the reason he convinced Will to leave was so that Will could finally heal from losing his daughter. He was never going to get fully better until he separated himself from Salem and let go of the pain he held on to. He still carried around a picture of Ari and Gabi, one of the last ones he took of the two of them together, and found himself looking at it from time to time. His heart still ached for both of them, but he was slowly learning to smile again at the thought of the two of them together. It made him feel better that neither one of them was alone.

Will was stared out the window towards the open fields of the villa's acre, the Tuscan sun shining bright on him, and turned when he heard the knock on his door signaling the start of his day. He took a deep breath and called out, "Come in!"

* * *

 _6 months later…_

Will sighed as he stepped out of the JW Marriot Hotel and looked around. He missed the peaceful feeling of Tuscany and the solitude he could find at his villa, but he could not help the sense of excitement he felt coming to L.A. and being able to participate in parts of DiMera Enterprises. His father decided three months ago that he needed to start being visible in the business world and showing up for conferences regarding the company. Will had felt nervous at first, and Chad had wanted to fight Stefano on this, but Stefano held firm. So Will and Rocco left the villa in Tuscany and headed to Chicago to attend board meetings regarding the IT department and the newly revamped Print and Media department. Zoe was still the lead in _Sonix_ , but Will had kept in contact with her and was slowly learning all about the day to day activities in these areas. This conference in L.A. was another step to showing how capable Will was to helping Chad take over.

But being in L.A. was hard. The only other place that was harder to be in was Salem. L.A. had held some good memories for him, but a lot of bad ones as well. Will knew that the writer was not going to be here, but he couldn't help looking over his shoulder all day and night. He barely slept the first night in his hotel because he kept feeling hands all over him. His counselor had warned him it could be a long time before Will was able to get over everything that had happened, and his refusal to talk about it only made things worse. But Will did not want to talk about it. He did not feel it was going to make things any better.

He still had no memories of the first incident, but the video had been enough for him to know what happened. He only saw it once, but once was enough to leave a lasting imprint on his brain. He still could not believe how drugged he was, and how he was able to be convinced that everything was consensual. Watching the writer drag him into his room, and manipulate his body in different ways, still sickened Will. He wanted to throw every time he thought about hands on him, a mouth biting him neck, chest, everywhere, and violating him in ways he never, ever wanted.

But the video and the first incident were nothing compared to the 16 hours of torture he went through when he was kidnapped. The scars of that day and night were still evident, and Will still could not bear to have anyone touch him anywhere except for his hand and his shoulder. Even a hug from most people made his skin want to crawl. The thought of being close again to anyone, especially intimately, made him sick and gave him panic attacks. Even in the shower, Will barely wanted to look at himself and washed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Will quickly shook himself of those thoughts and began walking down West Olympic towards a little café, Rocco quietly next to him. He could have just ordered room service or went to the hotel restaurant, but he wanted to be outside a bit and eat away from the hotel. He had been ordering room service for the past few days and eating on the balcony, and he wanted to feel just a little like his old self again.

He looked down at his phone to quickly check his schedule for the rest of the day.

"We have to be at my mom's by 6 tonight. After lunch, I need to go back to the room and send the report to my father regarding the seminar, and then I want to go over the possibility of upgrading _Sonix's_ website with Zoe."

Rocco nodded and continued walking along the path. He did not think he would enjoy being a bodyguard for Will DiMera as much as he did. He liked what he did, and it gave him the solitude he wished for to continue on in his life, but he found himself enjoying Will's company more than anything else. He knew what Will had gone through over the past few years, and it surprised him how much he cared for the young man and how far he would go to protect him. He knew Will could not bear to be touched by most people apart from shaking a hand or a hand on his shoulder, but Rocco found himself okay with that. The thing that surprised Rocco was that Will seemed to actually enjoy Rocco's company.

After what Will had gone through, Rocco expected that Will would close himself off to everyone. _He_ had, and Stefano DiMera did not seem to be bothered by it. But somehow, Will had gotten under Stefano's skin, and the man cared very deeply for the boy. Rocco knew that Chad did as well, by the mere fact that he was threatened by both men to not let anyone hurt or bother Will. Stefano's words still sent a chill down Rocco's spine, and that was a hard thing to do.

 _Chad had just left the room to check on Will and make sure everything was packed for Italy. He had already threatened to go after Rocco if anything happened to Will, but Rocco was a professional. He knew how to protect someone._

 _Before he could leave, Stefano held up a hand. "I know my son has already told you this, but I want to reiterate." He stepped in close to Rocco and stared at him in the eye. "That boy has been through more than anyone can ever imagine. Despite my feelings about his mother, I love him. He is my son. If you let so much as one hair on his head be plucked away, I will make what your parents and foster parents did to you seem like a day at the amusement park. Do you understand me?"_

 _Rocco nodded slightly and swallowed. He had never heard Mr. DiMera ever speak about anyone quite like he did about Will, his newest adopted son. He had been a bodyguard for almost 3 years, and Stefano DiMera was one of the few people who actually made him nervous._

 _Stefano was satisfied, and then turned to see Chad bringing in Will to meet Rocco. "Ah, William. I would like you to meet Rocco, your bodyguard. He will be accompanying us and will be there to protect you."_

 _Will had been looking at the ground, but when he looked up, Rocco felt something tighten in his chest at the sight of the bluest eyes he had ever seen. And then Will spoke, and Rocco was hooked._

Rocco shook himself out of his memory as Will stopped at the outdoor café. Rocco looked around to determine if there were any dangers around and to ensure he could get Will to safety easily. There were not very many people at the café, but something felt off to Rocco. He was about to suggest that Will not eat here, when a voice called out.

"Will?"

Will froze for a moment and turned slowly to see Paul Narita sitting at a table at the café. He felt stunned and caught off guard. He had not seen Paul since the night he found out that Paul was helping Gabi and that was part of the reason why Gabi and Ari died. He had wanted to kill Paul that night. On top of everything else that had gone on between him and Paul, he found out that the man who his ex-husband was in love with had believed him about his stalker and yet Gabi and Ari still died.

But over the past year, Will had come to realize he could not blame Paul for their deaths. Gabi was a strong-headed woman, and didn't listen to anyone when she put her mind to something. He also came to realize that the writer was unhinged and would have probably gone after Gabi and Ari no matter what. It was a hard thing for him to come to terms to, and for a while it was just easier to blame Paul. But he couldn't do that anymore.

He walked over to Paul and quietly said, "Hey, Paul."

Paul was equally stunned at seeing Will walking up to the café that he was eating at. Paul was in L.A. sort of just wandering, traveling around while his agent set up different events for him to be at. After everything that had happened in Salem, and then seeing Sonny again, Paul realized he needed to get away from everything and figure out what to do with his life. He still visited Salem from time to time, but it was too hard to stay for long periods of time and he ended up traveling as just a way to escape. He had lived for a few months in San Francisco, but even that did not feel right anymore.

Salem had started to feel like home to him, but after everything that had happened and his part in it, he felt he had no right to live there. Marlena had tried to talk to him about it, and get him to see that it was not his fault, but it didn't help. A part of him felt angry that she was trying to help him when she never did anything to help Will while he was struggling. He had actually confronted her about that during his last trip, and his last comment before he left still stuck with him.

" _Why was I one of the only ones in this town who actually cared about what Will was going through? All you people cared about what the fact that he was causing drama and making your lives harder. Guess what? His life was just as hard, and none of you gave a damn!"_

Marlena tried to question him later, wondering if part of the reason he was so angry at everyone was that he had feelings for Will, but he blew her off. He did care about Will, and he was attracted to Will. But he did not want to be in a relationship with Will. At least, he didn't think he did. But now, staring at Will, he wasn't so sure what he wanted or felt.

He clumsily got up from his chair, jarring the table and causing his water to spill over. The small crash sound startled Will, who jumped and Rocco pulled Will behind him. Loud noises still had a bad effect on Will, and his anxiety began to rise. He closed his eyes and forced himself to do the breathing exercises the counselor had shown him. After a few moments, his chest loosened enough that he can breathe fully, and he turns back to see Paul apologizing to the waitress and waving her off.

Rocco still keeps Will behind him, guarding him from this unknown intruder. He knows who Paul is, and while he knows that Paul was not one of the ones who tormented Will during his time in Salem, he also knows that Paul represents a bad part of Will's life. Bad memories that Will had only just started to free himself from. He didn't want Will reverting back to the way he was before.

Paul stared at Will standing behind a tall, broad looking guy. "I'm sorry. I'm just startled I guess to see you here."

Will took a deep breath and stood to the side of Rocco. "Same here."

There was an awkward pause, and then Paul said, "How are you? I haven't seen you in a long time."

Will nodded. "I'm good. My father had me come here for a conference and to start getting more into the business."

Paul looked confused for a moment, but then realized Will was talking about Stefano. The news had spread like wildfire that Stefano had adopted Will and Will had changed his last name. He had no idea how Lucas felt about that, but he knew it hurt and bothered most of the people in the town.

Still, Paul knew that Stefano was important to Will. "That's great. I'm not living in Salem right now, but I have been visiting a few times and I heard a lot."

Will sighed and hardened, ready to defend any decision he had made over the past few years against anyone. But Paul did not seem to be judging him. In fact, Paul seemed almost happy for him.

Paul suddenly realized they were all awkwardly standing. He gestured to the table. "Do you two want to join me?" He had no idea who the guy with Will was, but he seemed really intimidating and angry at Paul for some reason.

Will hesitated, not sure if this was a good idea. But he knew eventually he needed to start dealing with his past, and his father had been encouraging him to eventually come back to Salem. Maybe this was a good place to start at. He placed his hand on Rocco's shoulder, gathering strength from him, and nodded.

Rocco was surprised that Will agreed to join Paul, but he moved forward and sat down at the table. They were close enough to the entrance that he could get Will away quickly if they needed to. Paul sat back down and Will sat closer to Rocco on the other side of the table. The waitress came over to give them water and take their orders.

After they all ordered, there was an awkward silence again. Paul truly had no idea what to say. He looked over at Rocco and reached out his hand to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Paul."

Rocco didn't say or do anything, only stared at Paul. Will sighed. "This is Rocco, my bodyguard/friend."

Paul dropped his hand, realizing Rocco was not into pleasantries. "Bodyguard? That's cool.

Will shrugged. "My father and Chad thought that is was a good idea after everything that happened." He smiled over at Rocco. "I wasn't sure at first, but I'm glad now. Rocco has been amazing."

Rocco continued to stare at Paul, but inside he was beaming. It felt so good to know that Will liked having him around. He knew Will did not want him at first, but that did not matter to him. After everything that happened to Will, Rocco could understand not wanting to have someone watch your every move.

Paul nodded. "What have you been up to? No one has seen you in Salem."

Will sighed. "I left about a year ago. It was too hard being there and just…" he wasn't sure what Paul knew and he wasn't sure how much of it he could handle talking about. He took a deep breath and continued. "Victor wouldn't leave me alone, and Chad decided that it was best I leave. I went to Italy for a while and lived there, and then my father wanted me to come back and get involved in the company again. I've mostly been in Chicago, but I travel a lot around, going to different conferences or meetings."

Paul nodded, thinking that it was probably the best thing for Will to get out of Salem. From what he heard, Victor was on the warpath and he wanted to take down all the DiMeras. They had tried to arrest Will and use him to get to Stefano, but what they did not think about was how badly scarred Will was and how badly being arrested could affect him.

He wondered as well if part of the reason Victor was on the warpath was because of Sonny. After Sonny's ill-advised confrontation with Will and Chad at the DiMera Mansion, Sonny seemed to be a wreck and wander most of the time. Paul saw Sonny a couple of days after, and Sonny looked a mess. He admitted to having nightmares about Ari calling out for him but he couldn't find her, and that he felt so guilty about what had happened. Paul felt bad for him, but he still felt weird about being around Sonny. Even when Sonny tried to kiss him in an attempt to make himself feel better, Paul couldn't find it in himself to enjoy or want it. They both agreed that it was wrong to do it then, and Sonny had apparently been traveling around again. Paul heard from his father that Victor and Adrienne were upset about that and wanted Sonny to come back and stay in Salem.

"I'm really sorry about what Victor put you through." Will nodded his thanks and Paul sighed, knowing he needed to get this out. "That isn't the only thing I'm sorry for. I am so sorry for my part in what happened to Gabi and Ari." He saw Will stiffen and rushed to get everything out. "I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness or anything, and I am not. But you have to believe me when I say that I never wanted any of that to happen. I tried to convince Gabi to not get involved in it, and to just keep Ari safe. I thought that I could gather enough information to go to the police to make them believe you about what you were saying. Gabi and I both knew this guy was bad news, and we just wanted to help you." Paul started to cry. "I hate myself for not trying to help you more or making sure you could protect them. I can barely be in Salem without wanting to scream and cry." Paul slumped back into his chair. "I'm just so sorry."

Will stared at Paul, unsure of what to say. He can tell how guilty Paul feels, and for the first time, Will actually felt sympathy for what someone else had gone through during that time. He had been so focused on his own feelings, since no one else seemed to care but Chad and Stefano, he barely considered how the others felt about everything.

He reached out and put his hand on Paul's carefully. "Paul, it isn't your fault." Paul looked at Will surprised. "I know I blamed you a lot, but the truth is that that guy probably would have gone after Gabi and Ari sooner or later. I know Gabi wanted to help, and would have helped no matter what people said. Her own brother tried to get her to stay away from me and keep Ari away from me, but she wouldn't. They probably would still be alive if they did."

Paul spoke up. "Don't say that. You don't know that."

Will leaned back and sighed. "You're right, I don't. What I do know is that the one who is to blame for Gabi and Ari's…death is that guy, and no one else. You don't need to blame yourself. _I don't_. Not anymore. And it wasn't fair of me to blame you in the first place."

"I understood why."

Will smiled. "Thank you. But it still was not fair of me to blame you. You were one of the only people who actually believed me when all that was happening and tried to do something."

Paul hesitated before asking, but he couldn't help himself. "Have you talked to anyone from Salem?"

Will hardened. "The only people I care to talk to are my father and Chad." He paused and then relented. "I have talked to my Grandma Kate a few times. I know she is not thrilled about me with Father, but she doesn't bring it up."

Paul nodded, noting to stay away from that subject. "What about your mom?"

Will sighed. "She is kind of the same way. She doesn't like how things are, but she knows that this is what I want. I am seeing her tonight actually."

Paul smiled. "That should be nice."

Will grimaced. "You've never met my mother."

Paul laughed at that, and smiled at the waitress who delivered their food. The three ate in a comfortable silence, Will and Paul casually talking, while Rocco only observed.

Will decided to turn the conversation over to Paul. "So you are not living in Salem? How come?"

Paul sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, after everything that happened, I wasn't sure how to think of that place as home. To be honest, I was so disgusted by how most people treated you, and it just was too hard to walk around and not want to cry at the thought of all the trauma people put you through."

"But that doesn't mean you can't live there, Paul. Your family is there."

"So was your family. And look what happened."

Will looked away. "The only family I have is my father Stefano and Chad. The rest of them are NOT my family."

Rocco watched Paul to make sure he would not further upset Will, but Paul seemed to get it and dropped the subject.

When they finished eating, Will paid for their meals, even though Paul protested. The three left the café and stopped outside to say goodbye. Without thinking, Paul stepped forward to hug Will, but Will flinched and stepped back, and Rocco got in between the two of them, ready to block Paul's access to Will. Realizing his mistake, Paul took a step back and apologized.

Will looked at Paul and took a deep breath, shaking off his anxiety and held out his hand for Paul to shake. He decided to give Paul a little piece more of comfort. "I know Salem was starting to feel like home to you before this all happened. Don't feel like you can't let it be home again." Paul stared at him, surprised. Before Paul could say anything, Will dropped his hand and continued. "For whatever it is worth, you should explore the opportunity to see if Salem could feel like home again. You don't need to feel guilty about wanting it to be either."

With that, Will turned and walked away, Rocco right behind him. Paul stared at Will in amazement, unable to fathom that this was the person who nearly a year ago hated the sight of him and almost everyone in Salem. And it made him wonder about maybe, if things could change between him and Will, then maybe he could try to change things in Salem for him too.

* * *

 _Later that day…_

Will smiled as he watched his sisters Allie and Sydney play dress up together while his brother Johnny played videogames. An ache of sadness ran through him as he could not help but think of Ari as he watched the three kids play together, and tears came to his eyes at the thought that Ari never got a chance to participate in all of this. It has gotten easier to think about Ari, but there are times when it was difficult. But he did not want to get up and make a scene over this, and cause his mom and siblings to get upset.

Fortunately, Rocco is very in tune with how Will feels and is easily able to divert the situation.

"Your father just sent me a message. He needs you to clarify something in the report you sent him. He sent you a copy as well and highlighted the section."

Will looks and Rocco and nods gratefully. Rocco was the one who came up with this solution as they were on their way to Sami's Condo. He knew Will was anxious about seeing his mom again, and suggested that Will tell his mom he is putting his phone on silent, but if Stefano needs him for anything, he will send a message to Rocco, who will let Will know. This way, Sami can feel like Will is trying to actively be there, but if it gets too much for him, Rocco gives Will an out.

Will nods and walks outside for a moment to get some fresh air, staring at his phone. Sami watched Will walk out but did not follow, trying her best to not hover around her son. This was the first time she had physically seen Will in almost 2 years, although she has spoken to him and video chatted a couple of times. She held an immense amount of guilt over the fact that she was not in Salem to help him when everything had happened, and because she was avoiding going to see Stefano, she was not there when they buried Arianna Grace.

Sami did her best to hide her tears from her other children as she thought of her poor grandchild. A large part of her felt guilty over everything because she was the one who encouraged Will to come to L.A. to pursue the ill-advised screenwriting job, and that led to meeting that horrible guy who took advantage of her son. She had known something had happened between them, but she had no idea what. Will never talked about it, and she had suspected he had cheated on Sonny and felt guilty about it. If he had talked to her, she would have helped him to see that what happened between them was not consensual at all. She wished that she had left it alone and let Will stay with his husband. But she refused to let that consume her. She had tried to talk to Will about it, but he kept tight-lipped and snapped that he did not need her guilt on top of his own. This was not about her.

She hated to admit it, but a part of her felt grateful that Stefano and Chad had stepped up when no one else in her family had to help Will. It frightened her that Will said that Stefano was his father now, and she worried what he would get her son into. But she could not deny that, if it was not for them, her son would most likely have lost what precious little time he did have with his daughter and probably would not be alive now. Her and Kate had both talked about the situation, and while they had tried to come up with ways to get Stefano to leave Will alone, they were not able to do anything. Kate even said she had gone to Stefano and Stefano laughed at her, stating that William was there of his own free will, and no one was making him do anything he did not want to do.

While she never verbalized it, it angered her so much how Lucas had essentially abandoned his only son and had chosen Adrienne Kiriakis' side after everything that had happened to Will. While she had been disappointed that her son had cheated on his husband and their marriage had failed, she could also see how much he loved Sonny and had tried to make things better. She wished she had been able to help him then, but now, she felt Will was much better off without Sonny and the rest of the Kiriakis' in his life. They had tormented him so much that she didn't care what happened to them, as long as they left Will alone.

It feels really nice and natural to have her son with her, even with his new bodyguard. She still is hesitant to accept Rocco in her life, but Will has made it clear that his life now includes Rocco and Stefano, so she can either accept it or not see him anymore. She refuses to let that happen. She has even done her best to ensure the kids do not mention Sonny or Arianna to Will. She tried to explain as best that she could that Ari was taken from them just like EJ was and that Will is still very upset about it. Johnny seemed to accept it the most, considering he still very much misses his dad and gets upset any time someone mentions EJ. He likes the fact that he and Will now share the same last name and that his Nono has been there for Will.

She shook herself from her thoughts and looked over as Will came back into the room. "Everything okay?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, just needed to review a report about the conference and clarify something for father."

Sami did her best not to flinch when Will said "father". She hated that he referred to Stefano as that, but would not say anything. She decided to go for a more neutral topic. "How was the conference? You had said that you learned a lot."

Will smiled and nodded. He explains all about the conference and the different types of ways that companies can use the News and Media to expand their IT department. While Sami wishes that Will was working for another company, she can't help but feel excited for her son, and so happy to see him so animated. A part of her wishes that EJ was around to see him like this, and knows that he would be excited for Will as well. She hopes he is watching them and watching over Arianna as well.

The doorbell rings, interrupting the conversation. Sami gets up. "I'll get that. Probably just one of the neighbors or something."

Will nods and smiles back at his siblings as they play. He actually enjoyed spending time with them more than he thought he would. He thought it would be incredibly hard and they would ask all types of questions, but the kids seem more intuitive than he gave them credit for. He knows his mom has told them about Ari's death, and that he is now living with Stefano, but they don't seem to question things too much. For that he is grateful. He does not want to try and sit and explain everything that happened, and he is not even sure he could do it. Reliving the past is just too hard.

As though that thought jinxed it, Will is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a raised voice he never wanted to hear again.

"What is the big deal, Sami? So I didn't call? I have a right to see my daughter!"

Sami tries to stop Lucas from walking into the family room, but she is too late. Lucas walks in and immediately lights up at the sight of Allie, but before he can say anything, he sees Rocco sitting on the couch. He starts to question Sami about who Rocco is, not wanting her to have a strange man around his daughter, and then he sees Will.

Lucas is startled at the sight of the son he has not seen or heard from in over a year. He had kept his distance from Will and the mansion, and then heard that Will no longer lived in Salem. He still felt horrible over everything he had done, but a part of him felt justified in the fact that he was only trying to make sure his granddaughter was safe. He felt that his son was grown and needed to take responsibility for his actions and mistakes. Everything just reminded him so much of what he went through with Sami, and he had been exhausted by it. Marlena and Adrienne had talked to him and told him that at some point, he needed to force his son to take responsibility for what had happened, and Adrienne convinced him that Ari was in an unstable environment. But he never wanted or thought things would get to the point that they did.

Will froze at the sight of Lucas Horton standing at the front of the room. His former father seemed just as startled to see him, and he could see from his mom's face that she did not plan for this to happen. Will felt something inside him start to twist and snarl at the sight of Lucas. This was a man who had been in and out of his life for so long, and when he finally thought he had the support he needed, Lucas turned and abandoned him to side with his former mother-in-law, the one who never supported his marriage at all. He could still remember the humiliation he felt when his father came to him and said that because he was asking Kate to borrow money, maybe it was better that Lucas take custody of Arianna. Just until Will gets back on his feet, he had said, so condescendingly.

"Will." Lucas says breathlessly.

Will only stares at Lucas with hatred in his eyes. Rocco and Sami can both see that the situation is about to turn in a bad direction. Allie breaks the silence when she realizes her dad is there.

"Daddy!" she calls out, and Will flinches at that. A part of him hates how much Allie still loves her father, but he loves her too much to make her change. It isn't fair to her.

She runs to Lucas. "What are you doing here?"

Lucas hugs her. "I was in town on business and I decided to surprise you. I wanted to see you!"

Allie smiles, and then brings the attention back to Will. "Will, look! Dad's here!"

Will smiles tightly, quietly saying to himself to not make a scene. Rocco, realizing things are too tense for Will, offers an out. "Will, I think we should get back to the hotel to get ready to leave tomorrow."

Will nods and gets up to leave. Sami chimes in, "But I thought you guys were going to stay for dinner."

But Will shakes his head, saying "Not this time, Mom. I will call you when I am in town again."

Sami bristles at the dismissal, but accepts it. It angers her that Lucas had to surprise them and be here on the one day she gets to see her son in over two years. Her son, no longer their son. And it was Lucas' own fault that Will refused to acknowledge him.

The kids start to complain about Rocco and Will leaving, but Will is stern and lets them know he will see them again. Rocco gathers their things and they begin to head out the door when Allie calls out, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to daddy?"

Will turned back to Lucas and Allie. "Why would I?"

Allie looked at him confused. Before Sami can stop her, she says, "Because he is our daddy. Aren't you happy to see him?"

Will hardens. "He isn't my dad. And no, I am not happy to see him."

Before anyone can say anything further, Rocco pulls Will away and outside of Sami's condo. Will stumbles and feels a pressure in his chest tightening, and he tries to remember everything his father taught him when dealing with an intense situation. But he honestly thought he would never have to see Lucas Horton again.

Before they get too far, Lucas runs outside and calls out to them. "Hey! I am still your father, and you have no right to say any of those things to your sister."

Will turns back to Lucas and snarls. "DO NOT call yourself my father! You have no right to do that!"

Lucas stops. "I am your father whether you like it or not."

Will walked up to Lucas. "No! You are just the man I unfortunately share some DNA with. MY father is Stefano DiMera!"

"How can you say that? After everything he has done, how can you choose him over me?!"

Will widens his eyes. "After everything _he_ has done? _He_ was the one who stood by me and helped me when no one else would. _He_ was the only who believed me when I said that guy was stalking me. _He_ was the one who made sure I got to keep MY DAUGHTER in my custody and away from YOU! _He_ wasn't the one who turned his back on his son and chose to side with his son's ex and another woman! He made me feel accepted and loved! Don't you dare ever talk bad about my father!"

Lucas is startled by the amount of hatred and vitrol spewing from Will, but Will realizes he isn't finished. "You turned your back on me and tried to take my daughter away from me! I need your support and help, not your contempt! You chose Adrienne Kiriakis over me. How dare you call yourself a father after what you did?"

Lucas tries to defend himself. "I was just trying to protect Ari…"

Will slams into Lucas. "Do NOT say her name! You do not get to say her name around me. It is because of you, and everyone else in that town, that she and Gabi are gone. You won! I lost her! Are you happy now?!"

Rocco finally gets a hold of Will and pulls him back to the car. Lucas tries to approach them again, but Rocco stops him with hardened, angry eyes. "Stay the hell away from him, Mr. Horton. Or I will not hesitate."

Lucas bristles. "To do what?" he challenges.

But Rocco just stares at Lucas and says nothing. Will looks at Lucas one last time. "I am not your son. You better forget you ever had me as a son. You obviously replaced me with Sonny, so go make nice with him. Or Allie, I don't care. Just stay the hell away from me." Rocco quickly takes charge again, worried that Will is going to cause himself to have a panic attack. He quickly gets Will into the car and rushes to get them out of the area. Lucas watches with tears in his eyes, wondering if that truly is the last time he will ever speak to his son again. With a resigned feeling, he heads back into Sami's condo, hoping to try and salvage at least one child's relationship.

* * *

 _Back at the hotel…_

Will stares blankly at the wall of the hotel, lying quietly on the bed. He barely said a word to Rocco all the way back to the hotel, and only laid on the bed to try and calm the storm in his mind. He truly never prepared himself to ever see Lucas Horton again. He knew eventually he would, but he thought that he would not care by that point. But the pain of losing Ari and the fact that he felt so abandoned by everyone who claimed that they loved him still deeply hurt. And now his fear was that he was disappointing his father and Chad by not keeping calm in public. At least no one was really around to see it.

He hears his phone ringing in the background, but he has no energy to move or talk to anyone. He knows if it is important, Rocco will find out about it. And just as he predicted, Rocco's phone begins to ring.

After Rocco answers, he pales when he realizes what the phone call is about. He puts the caller on hold, and gets Will's attention. Will ignores him at first, but when Rocco tells him its Chad and it is important, Will perks up.

"Chad?"

"Hey! Why aren't you answering your phone?"

Will sighed. "Sorry, I was just lying down."

But Chad cuts off his explanation. "Never mind. You need to come to Salem."

Will stares at the wall confused. "What? Why? I am flying back to Chicago tomorrow."

Will feels a sense of panic and dread build up. He is afraid of the answer why he is needed in Salem.

And Chad gives him the news he never wanted to deal with again. "Father had a heart attack this morning. I'm so sorry, Will. He's gone.

 _Please review! And thank you again to JKing99 for all of your ideas and continued support. It means so much! A lot of credit for this story goes to you, especially Stefano's death._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note- I am so sorry for the delay. Huge amounts of credit goes to JKing88 for all your support and inspiration. You have been amazing and extremely helpful throughout this whole story. This story would have have been complete without you. Warning, major angst and graphic nature of non-consensual acts in this story. Please be aware!_

* * *

Will sat on his bed in his old room in the DiMera Mansion. He had been back in Salem for two days following the news of his father's passing, barely talking to anyone besides Rocco and Chad. It was just so hard for him to comprehend that Stefano DiMera was gone. The man had "died" so many times only to come back again alive. When Chad first told Will, Will thought it had been a dream or something, anything to force Will to come back to Salem. But when he and Rocco arrived in Salem, they went to the mansion and they could immediately tell that Chad had been telling the truth, that this was real. And Will still had no idea what to feel.

Chad had handled putting together most of the arrangements. Will had offered to help out with anything when he and Rocco had arrived, but Chad waived them off, knowing that Will was probably going to take this death hard. Stefano had specific instructions all planned and written out at the time of his death, knowing of the possibility after so many years of people trying to kill him and his ill health. Chad suspected that Stefano had known this was coming, and that part of the reason he wanted Will back in the states was because he knew this was possible. But Chad didn't want Will to know that.

Sitting on the bed in his room, Will felt like he was in a fog. A part of him had a hard time still believing that Stefano was dead. He had spent years hating the man and wishing he was gone, and now that everything had changed, he didn't know what to do. He just kind of shut down and felt numb. He needed someone to either tell him this was a dream or give him something to do so he could move forward. Stefano was one of the few people he always did his best to listen to and would tell him what to do in this situation.

Rocco stared at the lost being that was his charge/friend. He knew Will was taking Stefano's death hard and was probably feeling lost, and that worried him more than it should. He had seen Will at what he thought was a really low point in his life, but according to Chad, he had been worse. Will had been through so much in his life, and Rocco worried that one more death would push him over the edge. He wanted to be able to do something, but what?

Will suddenly broke the silence. "It is really pretty around here."

Rocco was startled, but recovered quickly. "What?"

Will got off of his bed and looked out the window. "It is really pretty around here. Granted, Tuscany was nicer, but still."

Rocco was not sure where this line of thinking was going, but he had a feeling it had to do with Ari. Will very rarely talked about his daughter, but when he did, it usually started with an off-handed comment. When Will didn't continue, he decided to add in to the conversation, hoping against all hope he was right.

"She would be about four now, right?"

Will turned and looked at Rocco, surprised. Rocco continued. "Ari would be four, right?" Will nodded. "What would you be doing with her if she was here?"

Tears came to Will's eyes, but he smiled and turned back to the window. "I'm not sure. Probably have her in preschool now, playing with other kids. Hopefully she would not be like me and be rejected by other parents for having the outcast parents. Though if she was anything like me and Gabi, she would have so much energy. Even when she was one, she was so independent and insisting on doing everything herself."

He started to laugh, remembering a conversation he had with Marlena right when he announced to her he was engaged. "When she was about 9 months old, she started insisting on feeding herself with a spoon. She barely got any food in her mouth, but she refused to let me help her. When she was 2, not long after Gabi came back, she started insisting she could dress herself, except that she had trouble, so she insisted on wearing the same thing all the time. Her blue jeans and this bright pink and white shirt, which we constantly had to wash because she always got dirty." He stopped and laughed. "The first time she wore it, she had put it on backwards, but refused to let us help her fix it. We finally had to convince her that the buttons on her jeans needed to be in the front. If she did not want to wear that outfit, she wanted to wear this party dress and be a princess every day, and have people do whatever she wanted. She always got her way, so it didn't matter if she looked like a princess or not."

Rocco smiled at that, not wanting to say it out loud but knowing that if Ari had Will's eyes, she would have been able to get _him_ to do whatever she wanted. He only saw a picture of Ari and her mother a few times, but Rocco knew that even with Gabi's long dark hair, Ari was Will through and through. He wished he could have met her.

"She sounds like she was a hand full."

Will laughed at that. "She was at times. I worried that with all the changes that happened, with…with Sonny leaving, Gabi coming back, and all the craziness happening, that she would not take everything well, but she seemed okay. She always wanted attention, and it was so hard to not give it to her." Tears came to Will's eyes and he had to look down at the ground. He saw Ari's grave outside his window. "She was just this ray of light in my life, and I just wanted to give her everything she ever wanted. I wanted to make her happy."

"Will, I am sure you did."

Will took a deep breath and forced himself not to get too emotional. "When she started walking, I swear she never stopped moving. Gabi and I joked one time that she was the energizer bunny, and we needed to find an off switch. And she asked questions about everything."

Rocco smiled at Will. "I wish I could have met her."

Will smiled back. "Me too." He looked back out the window. "When we first left here for Tuscany, I have to admit I did not want to go. It was amazing at how much this mansion ended up representing safety and protection to me, when for so long I thought differently, or I was supposed to. Even when my mom lived here, with Stefano here, it was not home. But after everything that had happened, it became home."

"I remember you did not seem happy about being in Tuscany."

Will shrugged. "I was so used to being cast aside when I caused problems, that I just figured it was happening again." Before Rocco could interject that Will did not cause any problems, Will continued. "But father surprised me. He came with us, stayed, and helped me to realize that being in Tuscany was a good thing. I came to love being there. And when he called and said we needed to return to the states, I did not want to. I wanted to stay in my safe little cocoon again."

"We could have stayed if you wanted. Chad and I would have figured out a way to convince your father."

"I know. But now, after what has happened, I'm glad father insisted I come back and started getting integrated in the company. A part of me feels like he knew what was coming and prepared for it. He wanted me to be a part of this company, and I want it too. I am going to prove that blood is not the only thing that makes you a DiMera."

* * *

After his conversation with Rocco about what Ari was like, and thinking what she would be doing, and how he had healed from being away from Salem, Will realized he could not keep hiding out in his room while Chad took control of everything. He needed to show that he could be helpful again and that he was a DiMera too.

With Rocco following him, Will descended down the stairs in time to see Chad walking out of the main room.

"Will, hey."

"Chad, I was just coming down to see if there is anything you need me to help with."

Chad sighed. He knew that he should be including Will more with the arrangements, but a huge part of him wanted to continue protecting his brother after everything that had happened. He kept worrying that his father's death would push Will over the edge after all the work Will had done to recover. He feared something would happen in Salem, and a part of him wanted to get Will out and as far away from Salem as he could. But he could not force Will to do that, and he did not want to. He had to admit he did miss Will and liked having him back at the mansion.

"Actually, there really is not much either of us need to do. Father wanted his body cremated, but that is going to be tomorrow. If you want to go see father's body and say goodbye, we can do that tonight."

Will sighed and thought about what he wanted to do. He was not sure he wanted to actually see Stefano's body, but he did actually want to say goodbye to him and give his thanks for saving him in the way that he did.

Chad looked at Will. "If you don't think you can handle it, it is okay. No one is going to think less of you, I promise. I was not going to see his body, I just don't think it is necessary. I am just going to the cremation and say goodbye to his Urn."

Will thought about that, and decided that he could handle that. He was still not in a place to be able to deal with seeing Stefano's body, and realized that this was the better idea.

"I think I will do that too."

Chad smiled, and before he could talk further, there was a knock at the door. Rocco moved quickly to answer the door, stepping back to reveal a well-dressed looking man. Chad stepped forward and the two greeted each other, and then Chad turned as he heard Will.

"Will, this is Richard Crane, our father's lawyer. He is here to talk to us about father's will."

Will greeted the man and shook his hand. "This seems rather quick. I would have thought we were going to have the funeral service before getting into all this."

Mr. Crane spoke up. "That is part of what I wanted to talk to the two of you about. Your father was very specific in what he wanted for the service, and made it very clear there were things you two needed to be more focused on."

Will and Chad nodded, but Will felt confused. He would have thought that his father would wanted them to focus in on saying goodbye and the cremation before getting into the rest. But then he remembered how his father never liked to focus on the sentimental, always just on the fine details.

The three walked into the main living room, and Will asked Rocco to stand outside the door. Since this was a family thing, Rocco was not necessarily needed, but Will felt more comfortable knowing he was nearby. He did not think too hard about why that was.

Mr. Crane first started off by going through all of Stefano's assets and what were already designated for who and what needed to be divided up. The mansion in Salem would be put into Chad's name, but Will was happy about that. The apartment in Chicago was already in Will's name, and Will was so happy to find out that the villa in Tuscany was also left to him as well. All of Stefano's shares in DiMera Enterprises were given to Chad, and Chad was named CEO for 6 months. Will knew that was coming, since Chad had pretty much taken over for the past year. He had no worries about that, and vowed to himself that he would continue to make sure Chad continued to be the CEO of the company.

After going through all of the assets and logistics, Mr. Crane pulled out two envelopes and looked at Will and Chad. "As you know, your father was not a very sentimental person. But he cared very much about his family, and over the past year, he had made it clear that you two were both very important to him. He created trusts for his grandchildren Johnny, Sydney and Allie, but he has named the two of you as trustees until the children are 18. He did make it clear he did not want the children's mother in charge of the money."

Both Will and Chad nodded at that, not too surprised. Stefano had always made it clear that he did not care too much for Sami, especially after she had taken his grandchildren away to L.A. But he did love Johnny and Sydney, and even Allie; although she was not his biological grandchild, she was Will's sister, and E.J. loved her. So she mattered to Stefano as well.

Mr. Crane continued. "I have here two letters, one for each of you. Your father has requested that you read your own letter privately in your own time, though he did mention that he understood if you read it together."

He leaned over and passed along the two letters, Will handing Chad his letter and looking at the envelope with his name on it. He rubbed over the letters _William_ in his father's handwriting and for a moment worried about what was in the letter. Was there some dark secret that Stefano had that he needed to know about?

Before he could wonder on, Mr. Crane continued. "The last thing was a special request he had for you two. Your father's one main regret was the fact that he was unable to spare you both the pain of losing your daughters. While he did not know Grace, and only knew Arianna for a short time, he still knew that the pain was very deep for the both of you. In that regard, he wanted to do something that, in his words, would not exactly erase the pain, but would hopefully help the two of to use the pain for a better purpose." He pulled out a check. "He wanted the two of you to create a foundation to help children in some way. This is a check to get you started for one million dollars, $500,000 in Grace's name, and $500,000 in Arianna's name. Your father knew that the two of you were not only bonded by your last name now, but by the pain you both have suffered. He knew that you would put this money to good use, and lead the company to new heights and levels."

Tears were in both Chad's and Will's eyes and Chad reached over to take the check from Mr. Crane. They could not believe the generosity of their father, and while it did not erase the fact that Arianna and Grace were gone, it did give them hope that maybe they could do something good down the line.

With all that over, Richard Crane shook both of their hands and told them if they had any questions to feel free to give him a call, and he would be at the office to further discuss any business arrangements they needed to make. Chad showed him out, while Will stayed back to try and gather himself before he broke down. He stared out into the terrace to try and focus himself the way that the counselor and Stefano taught him.

Chad came back into the room alone and stared at his brother's back, knowing that Will was trying to keep himself from falling apart. A part of him hated the fact that Will had to try and deal with all of this, and he himself as well had a bit of trouble keeping his emotions in when he thought about the check they were given in remembrance of Grace and Arianna. A part of him still ached at the thought of his lost daughter, and he sometimes found himself picturing what she would be like. When Will went to Tuscany, Chad found himself at times standing at Arianna's grave, and would picture the two girls playing together in the DiMera gardens, laughing and driving all of them crazy with their mischievous ways. A part him hated the fact that something that both Will and he had in common was that they had both lost children, but he also knew that it was not something they could change. He never knew his daughter, but the pain was just as great as Will's, and he knew that the two of them could do so many good things with it, and push the company forward.

"You okay?"

Will turned back to look at Chad. He sighed. "Not sure. Ask me again in a few hours."

Chad smiled sadly. He looked out at the terrace and smiled when he saw the garden. "You know, when you were gone, sometimes I used to picture Grace and Ari playing together outside. Grace getting Ari involved in all sorts of mischievous trouble."

Will laughed at that. "God, those two would drive the entire town nuts. A little miniature you and Mia running around with a miniature Gabi and me. They would probably have the entire town eating out of the palms of their hands and still destroy everything."

Chad laughed at that picture. "Yeah, they would. You know the one man who would never say no to them, besides the two of us?"

"Yeah, Father." Will paused for a moment, and then looked Chad in the eye. "Do you think they are driving him crazy now?"

Chad smiled. "Hopefully." It still felt weird to think of their father as gone. He was not sure how long it would take for that feeling to go away.

There was a slight pause for a moment, and then Will spoke up again. "Considering the circumstances, it feels weird to say this, but congratulations bro on being CEO. You really deserve it."

Chad smiled. "Thanks. Although really, it does not change anything. Father has been having me take more and more control over the past few months, and I still plan on having you keep going the way you have."

Will smiled. "Thanks." He paused for a moment, and then asked, "How does Abigail feel about all of this?"

Chad shrugged. "She doesn't exactly like it, but knows that nothing she says will change my mind."

"I have not seen her around. I would have thought she would be."

Chad looked down. "I actually told her I was going to pretty busy for the next few days, so I didn't think it was a good idea for her to come around." Truthfully, Chad wanted to keep Abigail away because he wasn't sure how Will was going to react around her, especially with the baby. It was still tense between Chad and Abigail at times, but better than it was when Chad "encouraged" Ben to leave town after what his father did. He didn't care what Abigail thought, he was not going to take the chance that Ben was anything like his father and hurt Chad's family again.

Will bit his lip and wanted to argue that Chad did not need to keep Abigail away for him, but decided not to. He was not completely sure how he felt about her anymore. Instead, he asked the question that had been bothering him. "Do you think Father knew this was coming?"

Chad sighed. He had been thinking that as well. "Yeah, I do. He was so secretive about everything, and the way he was pushing for you to be more involved and back in Chicago and me to take over that I really do think he knew something was going to happen. I did not understand at first why he was so insistent that you come back from Tuscany and get so involved at that time."

Will looked curiously at Chad. "Did you not want me to come back?"

Chad looked shocked that Will would even ask that. "What? How could you think that?"

Will shrugged and bit his lip, feeling insecure all of a sudden. "I know I was in a really bad place before, and you had to deal with a lot with me. Plus Victor coming after me and the company all the time did not make it easier on you. After everything you and Father did for me, I don't know how I am ever going to repay you. And I promise I am not after the company or trying to take anything away from you. I want to help you grow this company more and make it better and keep you in charge."

"What? Will, what are you even talking about? I never, ever thought you were after the company. That isn't you. And Victor is not, I repeat, NOT your fault. He was always after the company, and is just bitter now because his self-righteous nephew did not get his way. The way they all treated you was despicable, and I would do anything to change what happened to you. Nothing that happened to you was your fault. The only reason I wanted you to get out of Salem was because you were not going to get better, and it was not safe for you. But you are my brother. I don't care what your last name is, you are my brother. You are not getting away from me any time soon, Will DiMera. You are going to continue being involved in the company and working your way up to the top."

Tears came to Will's eyes at Chad's speech and he was too choked up to say anything. But he didn't need to. Chad took a couple of steps forward and gathered Will into his arms, hugging him close. For the first time in the past few days, Will felt right at home.

* * *

Will walked around the garden and found himself in front of Ari's grave. He knelt down and brushed the leaves away from her tombstone and ran his fingers over the letters of her name. ARIANNA GRACE. He did not to have the Horton part on the tombstone, as it would only be just another reminder of everyone who failed him and Ari.

He stood back up and looked around the area. It still felt weird to be back at the mansion, but good as well. He had to admit he had missed this place and parts of Salem as well, although so many places held memories of Ari and Gabi, or just plain bad memories. The one place he knew he could not deal with seeing is the club. The place he had been held in for 16 hours after being kidnapped.

He still felt so stupid for leaving the mansion the day that he did. It had been two days since the funeral for Ari, and Will just felt trapped. He needed to get out. Stefano had warned him not to leave, practically ordering him to stay, but Will did not listen. He left, and somehow found himself on the road near the crash where Ari and Gabi died. He found himself staring at the sight of where the car had been hit, and looking around for clues as to what happened. Any evidence of who had hit them. And then he showed up. Will barely remembered the attack, but could clearly remember his voice.

 _"_ _You are all mine now, Will. Forever."_

Will shivered and shook himself out of those thoughts. He could not think of the guy anymore, nor the club. But he couldn't help but want to go out and see the Brady Pub, or the park and the water. Arianna loved those places, and for the first time, it brought a smile to his face thinking of her in Salem. He was not quite ready to go exploring around Salem, but thought that maybe in a day or two he would.

He turned back and walked into the mansion and up to his room. He let Rocco and Chad know that he was tired and staying in his room for the rest of the night. He knew they were worried about him, but he felt so drained after everything. He also wanted to read the letter Stefano had left for him. He was curious as to what it said, and hoped it gave him something to hold on to from his father.

Closing his door, he sat on his bed and opened the envelope, pulling out the letter.

 _William,_

 _My son. If you are reading this, it means I am gone. I knew this had been coming, but I am sorry that you have to deal with another loss. You have only officially been my son for a short time, but you have been in my family for some time now and you were always like a son to E.J. I wish I had been given more of an opportunity to groom you into the man you are supposed to be, but E.J. and your mother stood in my way. No one should stand in the way of your destiny, William. You were destined to be a DiMera. The only reason anyone would stand in your way is because they are afraid. And they should be. You are strong and powerful, and never think any less of yourself because of who you used to be. That is not you any longer._

 _Do not forget everything I have taught you. You have become stronger than those morons who called themselves your family. Do not allow them to try and manipulate you again back into who you used to be. You are a DiMera now, and you need to make sure others understand that._

 _One of my deepest regrets is that I was unable to find a way to stop that man from hurting you all over again and taking away your angel of a daughter. I know the pain of losing a child, and it is a pain that no one should ever have to bear. A parent is not supposed to outlive their child. You and Chad both know this pain, use it. Use it to show the world how powerful the DiMeras are and how no one can stand in your way, not even a Kiriakis. Victor is never going to stop trying to go after you and Chad. He has invested interest in the company, and will use any opening he can find to try and get the company away from you and your brother. You need to use whatever resources you can to ensure your brother stays CEO and you continue to work your way to the top. Do not disappoint me._

 _A little tip might help you. My inside sources have told me that Victor has closed deal for a small manufacturing company overseas. The company looks good, but they lack the financial assets needed to continue. It is a disaster of a company, and will begin to hemorrhage all funds. Even if Victor is able to turn the company around, it will set him back tenfold. You need to ensure he has no connection to DiMera before he takes us down with him as well. Your brother has been working on a deal with an international newspaper in Italy and some land in Ireland. Those will make this company stronger._

 _One last thing, William. Remember, you are my son, just as much as Chad is. I was so happy the day you agreed to let me adopt you and change your name. You have gone through so much in your life, and have become stronger than almost anyone in this town. Do not let them bring you down again. You belong here._

Will took a deep breath to try and stem the flow of tears and regain his composure. He could almost hear his father saying these words to him. He vowed he would not ignore his father's warning this time. He remembered the consequences of what happened the last time; he would not let this company go down and disappoint Stefano. Chad would stay in charge no matter what.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

Chad sat at his desk looking over the documents for the newest acquisitions again. He needed to stay on top of everything to make sure nothing went wrong over the next few months. Just because he had control of the company now did not mean that someone would not try to take it away from in six months. He needed to show the world that Chad DiMera was just as powerful of a DiMera as Stefano.

Thinking of his father, he looked over at the letter written for him. He had wondered what his father could possibly say to him that he does not already know. He knew his father had many secrets and buried skeletons in his closet, but what worried Chad the most was the possibility of a secret coming back to hurt him and Will. He realized he needed to know now so that he could deal with it in the future.

Glad that Will was in his room, he opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began to read.

 _Chad,_

 _My son, you have made me so proud over the past few years. You have truly grown from that lost boy you were to the man I knew you would be. You have become my perfect protégé, and I am so proud of everything you have accomplished. I know you will continue to make me proud as CEO of DiMera Enterprises._

 _You have also made me proud in how you have helped William. I have taken an interest in him for so long, but so many different things stood in my way. But now, he is home with us. But one of my deepest regrets is the way that he came to be permanently with us. I know you believed from the very beginning when he went missing that something was wrong, and I told you not to worry. There was a reason for that. I knew where William was._

 _I had cameras set up in that club when you fully took over, and I checked on them periodically. Several hours after William went missing, I checked the cameras for the club. You had closed the club for the reconstruction, so I did not think to look there right away. When I did, I saw William standing in the office with another man nearby. My first thought was that he was with someone, and I was going to let him have his space. But then I realized who the man was, and I thought William was finally taking his revenge for everything that had happened to him. I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to ensure William stayed with us, and so I turned the cameras off and told no one what I knew._

 _I swear my son, I had no idea what was truly going on in that building. I wish I had told you what I saw, and maybe William would not have been as hurt as he was. But it has come to benefit us, as he has fully committed to our side and joined out family. You must ensure he stays on your side and helps you to build this empire to be the best it could be. William is the key to doing all of this, my son. If you need to ensure this, I have all the evidence you need to keep William on our side. I hope you do not have to use it._

Chad stared at the letter in shock. He could not believe that his father had known the whole time they were searching for Will that he was held at the club by that maniac. Anger boiled in him at the thought that his father could have saved Will, and yet he left him to suffer. He didn't care that his father claimed he had no idea what was going on, that he thought Will was there on his own or that he was taking revenge. He should have been told!

Chad ripped apart the letter piece by piece. He felt so disgusted with his father, and he wanted to march over to Will's room and tell him everything he just learned. But before he did that, he stopped himself. Will had become very close to Stefano, and knowing this could set Will over the edge. Chad could not let that happen.

Sitting back at the desk, Chad decided to start going through all of his father's things. He needed to find all the evidence of that night, as well as the videos from Will's first rape. He wanted to make sure all of the secrets were found and destroyed.

* * *

The next afternoon, Will and Chad returned to the mansion after the cremation with the urn full of Stefano's ashes. It was incredibly weird to both Chad and Will to be holding their father in the urn that they had, but it was what it was. Chad placed the urn on the mantle in the living room, still unsure of what to feel after what his father revealed in the letter the night before. He spent half the night searching his father's office and computer for any information or videos that his father had. He had also placed a call with Richard Crane to let him know that anything of his father's needed to be sent to him, including any secret messages or packages meant for Will. Chad was going to protect his brother at all costs.

He had been able to gather all the videos of what had happened both times to Will, and was going to destroy them that afternoon. He still felt partially guilty about keeping all of this information from Will, but told himself that it was only to keep Will safe. His brother had been through so much, and while he was angry at Stefano, Chad had to admit that his father had helped Will so much in his recovery and had tried to prevent things from happening when they did. Unfortunately, despite what his father thought, he was not God.

Selfishly, Chad also kept this information from Will because he was still afraid to lose Will. He was afraid that this new piece of information would be too much on Will's fragile psyche, and he would disappear from all of them. He knew his brother had been hurt by so many people that were meant to protect him, and he just could not be one of them. He could not protect Will from everything, but he would do his best.

Looking over at Will, who seemed to be staring off into space, he could not help but ask, "You okay?"

Will shrugged. "Not sure. Still doesn't completely feel real."

Chad smiled. "Yeah tell me about it. I still keep expecting the old man to come roaring through the door chastising me for ever believing that a heart attack would kill him."

Will laughed. "Yeah, I know. Bullets, his many health problems, and all the attempts on his life, and a heart attack is what kills him. Most people did not believe he even _had_ a heart, and yet, there is proof he did."

Chad stared at Will. "You and I both know he had a heart, even before all of this."

Will nodded sadly and took a deep breath. "I read the letter he left for me last night."

Chad perked up at that. He was afraid to ask what was in it. Did Stefano reveal the same thing to Will that he did to Chad? "What did it say?"

Will sighed and dropped down onto the couch in the room. He stared down at his hands, causing Chad to become more concerned. "Will?"

"He told me that he loved me and that I was as much his son as you and EJ were, and that he wanted to bring me into the family long ago, but EJ and my mom wouldn't let him. He also told me not to let anyone bring me down again and to help you continue to grow DiMera Enterprises."

Chad nodded. "Okay. Was there anything else?"

Will didn't say anything for a moment and just looked at the floor. He kept thinking about the words _do not disappoint me_. He was afraid that he would not be able to find a way to help Chad get Victor away from the company, and that he would end up disappointing Stefano. He had dealt with so many people being disappointed in him that he couldn't bear to think that someone from beyond the grave would be disappointed in him.

Chad stared at Will, knowing that something was bothering him. "What else did the letter say?"

Will sighed. "He told me not to disappoint him. That I needed to use all my resources to get Victor to relinquish all his shares of DiMera to you and me and ensure he can't try to take over the company." Will pulled out the letter from his jacket pocket and held it out for Chad to read.

Chad angrily snapped the letter away from Will. How could his father put so much pressure on Will after everything he had been through? He read through the letter and knew this was very much from his father. The man could be kind when he wanted to be, but he also knew how to hit you where it hurt. He knew that Will suffered from a lot of insecurities and the fear of being a disappointment ran deep in Will's bones.

Ignoring that, Chad decided to help Will focus in on the last part of the letter. _One last thing, William. Remember, you are my son, just as much as Chad is. I was so happy the day you agreed to let me adopt you and change your name. You have gone through so much in your life, and have become stronger than almost anyone in this town. Do not let them bring you down again. You belong here._ He needed to show Will that he had enough confidence in Will that no matter what happened, no one would be disappointed in him.

He sat down next to Will. "Hey, look at me." He waited until Will looked him in the eye. "No one is going to be disappointed in you. If we lose the company to Victor, it is because _I_ was not good enough to run it, not because you could not get Victor away. Yes, this is something we will deal with, and I mean _we_. You and me. The responsibility ultimately falls on me."

He looked at the letter again. "The part I want you to think about and focus on is this last section." He reads the last paragraph to Will. " _One last thing, William. Remember, you are my son, just as much as Chad is. I was so happy the day you agreed to let me adopt you and change your name. You have gone through so much in your life, and have become stronger than almost anyone in this town. Do not let them bring you down again. You belong here._ You do belong here Will. No one in this town can take that away from you. They have taken a lot away, but they cannot take away the fact that you are a DiMera now, and that will not change."

Will took a deep breath and tried to focus in on what Chad was saying. But there was still a huge part of him that needed to not disappoint Stefano, and that part also wanted to get revenge on Victor. Victor made his life miserable for months and was a huge reason why he was forced to leave Salem. While it did turn out to be the best thing for him, he wanted to show Victor that he was not going to be pushed around any further and make sure Victor knew who the more powerful family was.

Chad saw the determination come to Will's eyes and knew he was not going to let this go. Will was going to do what his father wanted, and while Chad worried about the fact that Will might have to do something he was not ready for, he also knew that eventually Will had to prove to the world he was a DiMera now and was going to take Victor down.

Deciding to run with it, Chad said to Will, "Why don't you and I start to go through some of the documents in Father's office about this company Victor acquired. Maybe we can find out a little more and that can guide us in how we need to get Victor away from DiMera Enterprises."

Will smiled and nodded. The two walked together through the mansion and entered their father's office, Will heading for the computer and Chad going through the file cabinets. He had already made sure nothing was on the computer regarding Will, so he figured it would be safe for Will to look through.

* * *

After about two hours, Will's eyes widened when he realized he found the information they were looking for. It turned out that not only was the company hemorrhaging money, they were actually also laundering money and a front for a terrorist group in the Middle East. Will could not believe the amount of information Stefano had gathered about the company and the group. He also found evidence that Stefano had sent this to his attorney with specific instructions that when Chad and Will gave Mr. Crane a signed document stating Victor had given up all shares of DiMera Enterprises, Mr. Crane was to then begin forwarding the information on to the F.B.I. and offer any assistance to them for bringing down this company. So not only would there be bad press for Titan, but it could also bring very good press for DiMera and they could make it look like Chad and Will were interested in turning things around.

"Chad, take a look at this."

Chad went over to the computer, switched with Will to sit at the desk and began to read. He was shocked as well, but then realized his father must have been planning this for a long time.

"Wow this is major."

"I know. I wonder why Victor did not do his research and find this all out."

Chad shrugged. "I don't know." Analyzing the information again, Chad realized why. "Father must have looked into acquiring the company himself, and Victor found out somehow. If you do some research, the company looks good, it just needs someone to take control and oversee everything. Victor must have wanted to get to the company first, and beat out Father. But Father must have looked into the company further and realized a better opportunity presented itself in the form of using this to get revenge on Victor."

Will wondered about that. "Do you think maybe he found this information out, and that motivated him to manipulate Victor into taking the company, making Victor think he was getting one over Father?"

Chad smiled. "Yeah, it looks and sounds like it. From what I can see, it looks like Father has been planning this for a long time now."

He clicked on a few more emails and realized the extent of the manipulation and revenge. "You are not going to believe this."

Will leaned over Chad's shoulder and read the emails. Apparently, Lucas was the one who had brought the company to Victor. Anger shot again through Will as he thought about the last conversation he had with his former father and how Lucas still did not believe he did anything wrong. The words he spoke to him, _"I am your father whether you like it or not."_ How he had pretty much abandoned Will and tried to take Ari away from Will, and yet Lucas still believe that Stefano had brainwashed Will and that Lucas had done the right thing. It made him all the more certain to follow through with Stefano's plan and take down Victor.

Chad stared at Will and could tell that Will was even more motivated to go through with all of this. He worried that Will was going to regret this later on, but he was not so sure he cared enough to stop it. Lucas had not cared about his son in so long and barely gave a thought to how he felt about everything when Lucas and Adrienne decided it was best for them to take custody of Ari.

But he still felt he needed to ask the question to Will. "Are you okay with going through all of this, and taking down Victor and Lucas?"

Will nodded. "They did not care about me before, why should I care now?"

"Because you are who you are, Will. Your last name does not change who you are. You are a good person, and you hate hurting other people for your own pleasure, even if you think they deserve it. I don't want you to regret this a year from now and want to fix things."

Will sighed and walked over to the chair on the other side of the desk, sitting down. "I will admit that I hope this does not hurt my sister, Allie, because she does still love her father. But Lucas has stopped being a father to me for a long time, and I am so sick of him thinking he is better than me. And they deserve to go down for this, all Victor and anyone over there had to do was a little more research and they would have found all this out. But no, they were so insistent on trying to take Father down and punish me further. I am so sick of everyone in this town being so judgmental, and when things don't go their way or things blow up in their faces, they just expect the rest of us to be forgiving and move on. Not this time. I am done."

Chad held up his hands. "Okay, okay, I get it. Trust me, I agree with you. I just want to make sure you have thought this through. What about Kate?"

"What about her?"

"She is your grandma. I know you still care about her, and she still very much cares about you. She reached out to me after what Victor did, and I have given her updates on you. Are you prepared for her to deal with the fallout?"

Will sighed and looked down. He did not want her to get hurt over this. Kate was one of the few people who stuck by him through everything and understood his reasoning for siding with Stefano and Chad. She had at first offered that Will could live with her after what happened, but it was too painful knowing that Lucas was her son and could come over at any time. Plus the fact that she worked for Mad World meant that she was working for Victor and the Kiriakis'. He just could not deal with another person connected to that family. Chad could tell that his point made Will feel very conflicted. He pondered that for a moment and then realized there was a solution. "What if we hire her here?"

Will shot up in confusion. "What?"

"What if we hire her here? She could oversee Countess W, they need someone in control there, and she could help me oversee some of the smaller companies. Father is not here anymore, so she would not have to worry about that. We could approach her, offer her a job, and then when all of this goes down, she won't face any of the backlash."

"What would you tell her about all this?"

"I wouldn't tell her any of this. I would just say that since I am in charge now, and you are still working your way up, I need someone with a little more experience that I can trust. I will come up with an iron clad contract to ensure she can't pull something that would take the company away from us, and give her an offer. Let her decide. Maybe she wants to be away from Victor as well and would love the chance to be close with you again. I think the only thing that held her back before was Father, and like I said, he is gone now."

Will bit his lip and thought about it. He had to admit he would love the opportunity to work with his grandma Kate and get close to her again. But he needed her to understand that she could not talk bad about Stefano to him and that she could not take over anything from Chad. He needed everything to stay the way they were going.

"Can you take care of her and all that?"

Chad looked at Will curiously. "What do you mean?"

Will sighed. "I am not ready to immediately jump into being close with her again and I don't want her to change anything or take over. Can you bring the offer to her and have her report to you, and when I am ready, I will approach her."

Chad nodded. "Of course. I promise, nothing is going to change here. Don't worry about anything."

The two continued working for a few hours, going through documents and reorganizing files. Chad could tell that everything was starting to get to Will, as he began shuffling papers and trying to clean every single space of the room. He worried that the added pressure of having to deal with Victor Kiriakis again was going to push Will over the edge.

"Will", he called out, causing Will to turn back and look at him. "If this is all too much for you, you don't have to be involved in this. Wait," he said, holding up his hand before Will could protest. "I am not saying this because I don't want you involved or I don't think you should be. I want you here. I meant what I said before about you belonging here and with the company. But I know that this is all a lot of pressure on you, and you are still recovering from everything. And that is okay. We can continue starting you small, and you don't have to be here if you don't want to be."

Will took a few deep breaths and forced himself to stay calm, that Chad was only being his big brother and looking out for him. Chad, and Rocco, were both very overprotective of Will and always tried to come up with different solutions so that Will did not have to deal with anything too difficult, be it difficult decisions or wanting to get away from a situation. But at some point, he needed to start taking control again.

"This is all a lot. But I need to start dealing with things, and embracing my life. I know you are trying to protect me, and I promise to let you know if it gets to be too much. But I want to be here. It's what Father wanted too."

Chad sighed. "Okay. But promise me you are doing this for you and not for Father. I know you loved the old man, I do too. But he did not always do the right thing or know what the best thing was."

Will nodded. "He did for me though. But I promise. I am doing this for me."

Chad nodded and then checked his phone when it beeped. "Listen, Abigail wants to meet with me for a bit. Why don't you take a break for a while, and lay down or relax or something. It's about 2:30 now, so I will be back around 5 and we can get dinner."

Will wanted to protest and say that he was fine, but before he could, he yawned and realized how tired he suddenly felt. The emotional roller-coaster of the last few days began to catch up to him, and he realized that maybe he should lie down for a while. He nodded, and followed Chad out of the office. While Chad walked to the front of the mansion, Will headed towards the stairs with Rocco following him.

When he got to his room, he turned to Rocco. "I am going to lie down for a while. If you want, feel free to go do something or relax. I'm not going to leave until later."

Rocco nodded, but knew he would not go anywhere. "I have my phone if you need me."*-0

Will nodded and entered his room, closing the door slightly. He unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, along with his dress pants. He laid down on the bed in his boxers and undershirt, curling up under a light blanket. It was still warm enough that he did not seem to put on longer pants, although he usually did no matter what the weather was. Since his entire ordeal, Will usually made sure he was covered at all times, with a shirt and at least shorts. There were no long lasting scars on his legs, only one on his face and one on his chest, but he still felt so uncomfortable and exposed.

He tried to push those thoughts aside and remember the happier times he had, especially when he had Ari, but he could not help but think about the horrible night he endured with the writer. Before he could stop himself, he had drifted off to sleep.

 _Will was startled awake when his arms were suddenly lifted above his head and he felt himself being lifted. He tried to look around and see what was going on, but a blindfold was covering his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was still in the club or not, or who was around him. He tried to call out, but his jaw would barely move and all he could do was moan._

 _He cursed himself for not taking the opportunity when he had the chance to kill the writer. After he had been kidnapped, he had woken up and was laid out on a table, which ended up being the desk in Sonny's old office of Club TBD, and the writer began preparing him. Cutting into his skin, pushing his fingers inside of Will, raping him. He tried to fight back, but whatever he had been injected with caused his body to be paralyzed. He could not move, but he could feel everything._

 _After a few hours however, the drugs began to wear off. The writer ended up untying him at one point, and that was a mistake. Will waited for the right opportunity, and then struck. He grabbed the bat that was lying around, and lashed out at the man who had been taunting him for months, who had started Will's downward spiral into losing his husband, and who had been the one responsible for the death of his little girl and best friend._

 _He struck over and over again, backing the man into a corner. Anger coarsed through Will as he thought of everything he had lost over the past few months, and everything he needed to deal with. He stared at the man lying down in front of him, and he raised the bat to give the final blow to the head. But something stopped him. He couldn't kill the man. No matter what, he could not let Ari be the daughter of a murderer._

 _He slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face. He felt so helpless and weak. He had lost so much because of the man in front of him, and yet he could not kill him. He still heard the voices of Gabi and Ari screaming for him, he could feel blood and other fluids oozing between his legs, and a chill creeping through his body. He forced himself to start moving, to find his clothes and call someone for help. He limped out of the room and began carefully looking for something._

 _Before he could get too far, he heard a voice say "You should have done it when you had the chance", before something hard came down on his head, knocking him out._

 _Will was shaken out of his thoughts when the blindfold came off and his vision cleared. He realized he was hanging by his wrists in the middle of TBD, completely naked. In front of him was a television screen and the writer. The guy had woken up when Will did not kill him and decided to up the game a bit._

 _"_ _Naughty, naughty Will. You should have done it. You should have killed me."_

 _He grabbed onto Will's dick and began stroking him, grinning wildly when Will moaned. He whispered to Will, "Now, we are really going to have some fun."_

 _He pressed play on the television and then deep throated Will, forcing Will to watch a video that would forever haunt him. The video of his first rape._

* * *

Rocco jumped up from his room and raced over to Will's when he heard screaming. He rushed in, only to see Will thrashing in his bed and calling out. Realizing Will is having a nightmare, he quickly got into action and carefully shook Will's arm, calling out to him.

"Will, wake up! Will!"

Will gasp and shot up in the bed, wildly looking around for the writer. He quickly realized he was in his room at the DiMera Mansion and looked over at Rocco standing by his bed.

Rocco kneeled down in front of Will as Will twisted to sit on the side of the bed. "You okay?"

Will only nodded, unable to speak. He had not had a nightmare that bad and graphic in so long. He felt like he could still feel the hands running up and down his legs and arms, and he remembered the sting of the whip used on his legs and stomach, as well as the knife running across his face. Sometimes he could remember the fear he felt and the need to flee, and could feel the ropes burning against his skin as he had tried to free himself from their grasp.

Rocco carefully grasped Will's hand and held it in Will's lap. "Will? It's just me, Rocco. No one else is here, I promise you. He is gone, he can't hurt you anymore."

Will tried to slow his breathing down as he listened to Rocco's voice. He knew logically that the writer was gone and could no longer hurt him. He remembered Chad and Stefano coming into his hospital room after he had been treated. Chad and Stefano's men had found Will hanging by his wrists in the middle of the club, blood dripping down his bruised face and body, and they quickly cut him down and got him to the hospital. Will refused to talk to anyone or acknowledge anything going on around him. But he remembered the words Stefano said to him.

 _"_ _William, he is no longer an issue. You are free and safe. He is gone and never going to come back."_

That was all Will had needed to hear after everything. Hope and Roman had tried to come in and talk with Will, get his statement, but Will refused to talk to them. He refused to let them do a rape kit on him, and told everyone there that unless the doctor was a DiMera doctor, he wanted nothing to do with them. Chad had to practically beg Will to let Kayla examine him and treat his wounds.

Shaking himself out of those memories, he looked at Rocco and forced himself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm okay, Rocco."

Rocco was not quite sure, but he knew better than to argue with Will. He only nodded and stood up. Will got up as well, and carefully walked to the bathroom connected to his room and shut the door. His body was slick with sweat and he wanted to shower to hopefully clean himself of not only the sweat, but the nightmare and memories. He looked down at his dick with disgust. He hated the thought of anyone ever touching him there again, and barely could stand the thought of touching himself.

He stepped into the shower and adjusted the water so it was hot, scalding hot. He stood under the water for a few moments, just relishing in the cleansing feeling the water provided. Despite what his counselor and Chad said, Will knew he was still a long way from being healed.

* * *

Over the next week, Chad and Will worked together to figure out what parts of the company needed the most focus. Board members from all over the world had called or flew over to express their condolences over the loss of Stefano, and to show their support for Chad as CEO. While everyone seemed supportive and things seemed promising at first, both Will and Chad knew that eventually, someone would start to question it and there could be an opening for a takeover. They could not let that happen.

Will and Chad had also started putting plans together to put the $1 million to good use for a charity to help children like Grace and Arianna. Chad wanted to find a way for DiMera Enterprises to continue to fund the charity, and continue to provide good press for the company. Will had done research on other charities to find out what they did for children and to see where there was a need for the funding and the help. Both of them wanted to help younger adults who were in need of assistance to care for their children and had no help from their families and had been survivors of abuse. Will worried that that would provide unwanted attention to what had happened to him, but Chad assured him that he would take care of everything and would make sure no one would be able to try and use Will's history against them or the charity.

A week after Stefano's cremation, Rocco came into the home office Will and Chad had created. They were working hard, with Will mostly focusing on ideas to ensure Victor signed over his shares to them while Chad worked up what needed to be done over the next few weeks and creating a contract for Kate.

Will looked up when Rocco entered, noticing how tense Rocco seemed. "Is everything okay?"

"You have a visitor Will."

Will's eyes widened. "Who?"

Rocco stared at the wall, refusing to look straight at Will. "Paul Norita."

Will was completely shocked. Paul was _here?_ Chad was surprised. Why was Paul there to see Will?

Both men got up and quickly walked out into the main foyer where Paul stood nervously waiting. He wasn't quite sure why he was there, but when he arrived in Salem the night before and saw a news article about Stefano's death and Chad taking over the company, he felt it was the right thing to do. He wanted to continue fixing things with Will, and after their last conversation, he decided that he would try to see if Salem could be home.

Will entered the foyer and stopped near Paul. "Hi."

Paul smiled nervously. "Hey."

Will looked at Paul confusingly. "What are you doing here?"

Paul bit his lip and looked down, worried this was a mistake. "I, ah, after our conversation, I decided to try and see if Salem could be home, like you said. I just arrived last night."

Will still was not sure why Paul had come to the mansion. "Okay?"

Paul shook himself out of his stupor, realizing that Will did not understand why Paul would come to the DiMera Mansion after first arriving in Salem. "I read at the airport that Ste- your father had passed away a week ago, and I wanted to express my condolences to you and Chad. I would have called, but I don't have your number."

He looked over at Chad and Rocco, who were looking at him with a slightly menacing look, standing off to the side of the room. "Was this a mistake?"

Will looked over at Chad and Rocco and sighed. He knew that both of them were probably very suspicious of this visit, and he was too, but Paul had seemed sincere for the moment. He reached out his hand to shake Paul's. "No it wasn't. Thank you, I appreciate the condolences."

Paul smiled. He wanted to reach out and hug Will, but he had a feeling the two watchdogs at the side would have probably tried to kill him. "Are you busy? I was thinking about going walking through the town, and I thought maybe you would like to join me?"

Will bit his lip and sighed. He had been spending all of his time in the mansion, and he knew eventually he should go out into Salem. He wanted to see what the town looked like again, and a part of him wanted to show Rocco all the places he used to take Ari, but there was also that fear that held him back. He was not ready to confront any of the people that could be around, and he wanted to show that no one in Salem could affect him anymore. He just wasn't ready.

Before he could say anything, Chad spoke up. "Actually, Will needs to work on a presentation that we need to give to the board in a few weeks. So today is just not a good day."

Will looked at Chad startled and confused about the presentation explanation, since he knew they had no plans to work on that until the following week, but nodded anyway at Paul, agreeing with Chad. He looked at Paul and shrugged apologetically. "Today is just not a good day."

Paul nodded disappointed, but took out a card from his pocket. "I understand. But here is my number. I am going to be in Salem for a while, so I would like to pay you back for lunch last week. Give me a call."

Will took the card and shyly smiled at Paul, nodding encouragingly. Neither Rocco nor Chad felt comfortable about this, but did not know how to stop Will from doing anything. Will turned with Rocco and went back to the office, but Chad stayed behind with Paul.

Chad looked at Paul angrily. "What are you playing at?"

Paul was confused and startled, but had a feeling where this was going. "What are you talking about, Chad?"

Chad walked to stand in front of Paul. "What are you playing at with Will? Why are you coming here and wanting to spend time with Will?"

Paul was taken aback and held his hands up to defend himself. "Woah, what are you saying? I care about Will."

"Yeah, I am sure."

Now Paul started to get angry. "Hey, I believed Will when all of this was happening, okay? I tried to help him. Now, you have no idea how badly I feel about what happened, but I saw Will in LA and I apologized to him. He accepted my apology and actually said he no longer blamed me. I am not like the rest of the people in Salem; I actually just want to be friends with Will and get to know him again."

Chad stared at Paul, unsure of what to think of the man in front of him. He knew that Paul was one of the few people who had believed Will before about his stalker. But Paul was connected to Marlena, John and Sonny, and those were people Will was not ready to face yet. Chad had watched so many people claim to care about Will and want to be there for him, only to end up trying to use him and then throw him away.

"Look, I appreciate you reaching out to Will, but he is not ready to be out with people again."

Paul looked at Chad confused. "He was out in LA by himself at a conference and was walking around with that bodyguard guy. What is so different now?"

"What is different is that this is Salem, and all the people here are people who abandoned Will and made his life miserable for over a year. He is only just starting to get stronger and better, and now is dealing with the fact that our father has died! He does not need anyone pressuring him to do anything that could set him back again. I will not let it!"

Paul stared at Chad in shock. He knew how protective Chad was of Will, and had an idea of what lengths he had gone to protect Will, but he wondered if this was going too far.

"You can't protect him from everything, Chad. What are you going to do? Keep him locked away from everyone for the rest of his life? Eventually he needs to talk to people and deal with what happened."

Chad stared at Paul, switching between wanting to yell at him that what did he know about what Will needed, and telling him that he knows all that but that Will needs to do it on his own time. He did not want to admit that Paul could be possibly right, that Chad was being too overprotective of Will, but Paul did not see Will. Did not see Will spend months learning how to try and just breath again after Ari's death, learn how to not be afraid every time someone came close to him, and come so close every day to curling up into a ball and begging to die. Paul was not the one that spent so much time worrying that he was going to wake up and find Will had killed himself in the middle of the night. Maybe Chad was too overprotective. But he was willing to do it to ensure that he did not lose his brother again.

Paul could see that his words had an effect. He decided to not risk staying any longer, and turned to leave. Before he walked out the door, he turned back to Chad. "Look, I am not trying to cause any problems here. I know that the rest of Salem hurt Will so badly, and they do not have a right to expect anything from him. All I am here doing is offering my condolences to someone who at one point was my friend and who lost his father. But Chad, you know that keeping him in this bubble is not going to help him at all. He needs to face what happened to him, and you can't stop him from living his life. You can't protect him from everything."

Chad spoke up angrily. "Watch me. You have no idea what I can do."

"Maybe you can, maybe you can't. But shouldn't Will be the one who decides that?"

Before Chad could say any more, Paul walked out the door and down the driveway. Chad huffed and closed the door harshly, not sure why he was so angry. Was Paul right? Was he hindering Will's recovery by trying to keep Will away from Salem as much as possible?

Chad sighed and stared into the living room at Stefano's urn on the mantle. Stefano had once warned Chad that he was too protective of Will and that Will was never going to get stronger unless they forced him to. But even Stefano did not understand. Being one of the only people to have found Will after he was tortured and to see Will struggle after what Victor put Will through, Chad knew he needed to make sure Will knew he was safe with Chad.

Chad also had a more selfish reason for protecting Will. He did not want to lose his brother. Chad had already lost EJ and Kristen, and Grace as well, and now Stefano. He had lived through his mother dying and his other father rejecting him. He was not ready to risk losing another member of his family. Stefano used to tell him that they needed to find out if Will was like a diamond, that you put enough pressure on coal, it either turns into a diamond or it turns to dust. Chad knew Will was a diamond, but his fear of Will turning to dust if he was not ready held him back from letting the protective walls around Will go down. Even diamonds could have their breaking points.

About an hour later, Rocco came into the room to see Chad still standing in the room, looking out at the terrace. Chad turned when he heard someone come in.

"Will okay?" he asked.

Rocco nodded. "He is working on that presentation materials you talked about, and thinking of ideas to take down Victor."

Chad sighed. "I hope he doesn't drive himself crazy over that. I told him it would be fine."

Rocco nodded, but did not say anything else. Chad could tell something was bothering him. "What?"

Rocco sighed. "I don't think it is a good idea for Will to be around that Paul guy."

Chad's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Because he is a part of Will's past, and someone that does not need to be here, dredging everything up for Will again."

Chad became concerned. Was Will upset? "Is he doing that? Was Will upset after seeing the guy in L.A.?"

Rocco sighed. "No, not really. He actually seemed okay after seeing this Paul guy, they had a good conversation. He got quiet after seeing that Lucas guy. But I am sure that this guy is only going to remind Will about everything that he lost before. Will doesn't need that. He needs someone to remind him of the positive things in his life and someone who knows how to divert Will's attention when things get too stressful for him, not someone who is going to encourage him to go back into his past."

Chad stared at Rocco for a moment. He felt a little confused about what Rocco was so worried about. Staring at Rocco in his eyes, Chad suddenly realized what this was all about.

"Are you sure that is the problem?"

Rocco was taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course I think that is the problem."

Chad shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I don't think you are worried about Will being pulled back into his past. I think you are worried about Will being pulled to Paul."

Rocco wanted to deny it, but decided it was not worth it. Besides, Chad couldn't know the true reason why Rocco was worried about that. "Maybe I am. You know as well as I do that Will is nowhere near ready to be in a relationship."

"Yes, I do know that. But it makes me wonder, why you are so worried about that?"

"What are you talking about? It's my job to worry about these things, to be concerned about the people that Will has in his life."

"No, it is your job to keep Will safe and to ensure no one can hurt him again. Just like it is my job. And I think you are afraid of Paul because you worry, not that Paul will hurt Will, but that Will could fall in love with Paul and be happy with him."

Chad could tell his words hit their mark with Rocco. "Look, you don't know this Paul guy, but I do. Paul and Will were attracted to each other at one time. Now, I know as well as you do that Will is not ready to be in a relationship with someone, but eventually it will happen. And if your feelings or something is going to affect how you do your job, then maybe we need to rethink this arrangement."

Rocco was stunned. "You would fire me because I care about Will?"

"You more than care about Will. And no, I am not going to fire you. You are one of the best at your job, and this conversation is part of the reason. But I also won't sit back and let my brother's heart get broken again. I watched it happen before; I will not let it happen again. Will relies on you, maybe too much. The same with me, and he relied too much on that horrible excuse for an ex-husband he had. I know you are not going to pursue anything, but I don't want to see you screwing anything up for Will either."

Rocco stared at Chad and nodded, and then turned and walked away. He knew eventually someone would figure out he had feelings with for Will. Will thankfully had never noticed, otherwise he was sure that Will would not be very comfortable around Rocco. Will was still dealing with a lot of emotional baggage, as evident by his nightmare of his rape. Rocco as well had his own emotional baggage in the form of emotional, mental, and physical from his biological parents and relatives. He grew up in a world that taught him the only person you could truly rely on was yourself. He had closed himself off to any attachments to any person to ensure they could never get close to him again.

But Will made him feel things he never thought he would feel. He felt protective of Will, he felt a connection that most people would not understand. They had both been abandoned and hurt in some fashion by the people that were supposed to support and love them no matter what. He may not know what it was like to be tortured and raped the way that Will was, but he knew the pain of feeling all alone in the world and how some people will blame you for every problem no matter what you did.

Rocco loved being Will's bodyguard/friend. But he had to admit he would want more. If he never got it, that was fine. He wanted Will to be happy, and he would force himself to be okay if Will was happy with someone else. But he couldn't help but think that Will needed to be with someone who could understand him and the pain he went through. And no one could better than Rocco.

* * *

The next day found Will and Chad still working in the office. Chad needed to go into DiMera Enterprises soon and check in with the different companies, but his mind kept flashing back to his conversation with Paul. He wondered if keeping Will in the mansion and away from everyone in Salem was a good thing. He knew that there were people in Salem who wanted to know how Will was doing, but Chad gave them nothing since they gave Will nothing before. But maybe he needed to let Will make that decision now with Paul.

Will looked up and could tell something was bothering Chad. "What's up?"

Chad shook himself from his thoughts. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Will stared at Chad hard. He had a feeling what this was about. "Is this about Paul?"

Chad almost denied it. He wanted to. But then he realized it wasn't fair to Will. "Yeah, I guess. Juts something Paul said."

Will looked at Chad curiously. "What?"

Chad sighed. "He accused me of being too protective of you. That I should encourage you to get out of the mansion and see people. And the fact is that he is kind of right."

Will looked at him curiously. "What do you mean? It's not like you force me to stay locked up here."

"No, but I don't want you to leave. Or I want you to go stay in Tuscany for the rest of your life. Not because I don't want you around, because I missed you so much before and I am happy you are here, but because you were safe in Tuscany. No one could bother you there. I am scared that if you go out into Salem and see all those people again, either they will convince you to not be a DiMera anymore, or they will hurt you again. I watched what they all did last time, and I could not do anything to stop it. You have come so far, but I know that they hurt you and that it still hurts you what this town did. I can't watch that happen again."

Will stared at Chad in wonder. He knew that his brother held a lot of guilt over not being able to do more, but he never thought that Chad was actually afraid of losing him because of everyone. Will had been in a really rough place for a long time, and Chad was one of the few people who helped him to get through it. He did not know where he would be without Chad and Rocco. And Stefano.

"Chad, none of what happened is or was your fault. You did everything you could to help me through all of that, and I am so grateful. You and father were there for me when no one else was, and you helped me to stop everyone from taking Ari away from me, even after her death. And I don't want to leave the family. I want to be here."

Chad bit his lip and sighed. "I just don't want to keep you from trying to reach out to everyone here in Salem. Paul pointed out that I can't keep you away from everyone forever, and this is your home too. You should not be afraid to walk around Salem if you want to."

Will stared at the floor. He did not want to reach out to anyone, but he had to admit that a part of him wanted to walk around Salem and see places that he used to love. That Ari used to love.

"I don't want to reach out to anyone. I don't need to."

Chad stared at Will in contemplation. "But you want to walk around Salem."

Will shrugged. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

Chad sighed and decided to help Will out. He knew that Will could get overwhelmed easily if pushed, so he decided that if this was something Will really wanted to do, he would help him do it. "Maybe you should call Paul and see if he will meet you in the park or the square. You guys can get something to eat from here and take it out. But I need to insist you have Rocco with you at all times. I don't want you anywhere alone with Paul. And I don't want Paul trying to coax or force you to go anywhere you don't want to go."

* * *

That night, Will sat on his bed looking between his phone and Paul's number. He was not quite sure this was a good idea, but a part of him knew he needed to see if he was strong enough to confront more of his past. Could he handle going out into Salem and possibly running into people who used to be his family? The people who had turned their backs on him when he needed them the most?

He took a deep breath and dialed the number on the card. He had to try. He could not live his life continuing to wonder "what if". He needed to know if this was the point that he was ready to truly be in the world again.

A voice answered. "Hello?"

Will sighed. "Hey, Paul. It's Will."

* * *

Will sat at a table in the Town Square with Rocco right next to him, keeping an eye out for Paul. He told Paul he would meet him here and that they could eat food from the Pub if he wanted, but that Will did not want to go in there. Being in the Town Square was hard enough, but he couldn't handle being in a place that represented almost all the things he had lost. Granted, at least he could be near the Pub. He refused to even think about going near TBD.

Rocco looked over at Will and could tell by his body language that he was nervous. He still was not sure this was a good idea, but if Will wanted to do it, he was going to be there for him. Chad had enforced to him over and over again this morning that he needed to make sure no one tried to force Will to go anywhere he did not want to go and that if Will got upset, Rocco should get him out of the situation as fast as possible. And the one major thing was to make sure Will did not get too close to the old TBD.

Rocco looked around and saw various people staring at them. Staring at Will. His body stiffened and he forced himself to look at Will and not snarl and bark at the vultures looking at them.

"You okay?"

Will sighed shakily. "Yeah. It's just really weird being here."

Rocco reached out and gripped Will's hand gently. "We can leave if you want. You can call Paul and tell him you can't do this."

Will shook his head. "No. I want to do this. I need to show that the people in this town cannot chase me away." He paused and bit his lip. "Just….don't go anywhere."

Rocco smiled at Will and carefully and gently reached down and squeezed Will's knee, happy to find that Will did not flinch. "I am not going anywhere. Besides, I think Chad would have me killed if I did."

Will laughed and shook his head.

Paul stood from a few feet away just watching Will and his bodyguard Rocco. He was not quite sure why, but feelings of jealousy sprung up when he looked at Will and Rocco together and how comfortable Will looked. He could even see Rocco's hand on Will's knee, and was amazed that Will allowed that. Will could barely handle a handshake from him, and yet he is able to let Rocco touch his hand and knee. ' _Maybe it is just because they know each other so well and Will trusts him'_ Paul thought. Paul wondered though just how well Will and Rocco knew each other. Was Rocco just a bodyguard and friend, or something more?

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Paul walked up to the table, determined to have a good time with Will. He was not looking for anything or expecting anything. He meant it when he said he just wanted to take Will out to lunch.

"Hey", he said as he approached the table.

Will smiled at him. "Hey. Food smells great."

Paul smiled brightly. "I was not sure what you would like, but I think I remembered that you liked the burger and fries from the Pub."

Will smiled gratefully and surprised. "Yeah, I did. I have to admit, I have never found a burger that tasted as good as that one. Then again, in Tuscany they did not really cook me a lot of burgers."

Paul laughed. "I can imagine. But didn't you have your own chef there?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah, but it was not the same. Besides, when in Italy, you should eat Italian food."

Rocco smiled at Will talking about the food in Italy. Will never went out to eat, he usually just ate whatever the chef made for him, or asked someone to go out and get something. Will would never really leave the villa's estate, although that last month he had been making an effort to try and reintegrate himself with people again by walking around in some of the main square areas. It had been a slow pace, but it was good enough that when Stefano wanted Will back in the states, Will was able to handle being around people again. He still had a problem with crowds though.

Will and Paul conversed lightly while they ate, with Rocco just eating quietly next to Will. He kept his eye out for anything that seemed dangerous or someone who would interrupt them. Will actually felt at ease being out in public in Salem. He felt comfortable being around Paul.

"Hey", he said softly. Paul looked up at him. "Thank you for coming over before and eventually convincing me to come out. This is nice."

Paul smiled. "Just returning the favor." Paul laughed at Will's confused face. "You convinced me to come out a few years ago."

Will smiled and then laughed. He ended up laughing really hard. He smiled over at Paul. "Oh my god that was corny."

Paul shrugged. "You seemed to like it."

Will smiled. "Actually I have not laughed like that in a while."

Paul smiled at that, but Rocco scowled. He hated the fact that this Paul guy could make Will laugh like that.

Will was about to say something else, when another voice broke through. "Paul? _Will?_ "

Will groaned, and turned to see Marlena Evans-Black walking up to their table. Marlena was another person he had no interest in seeing. She claimed to care all about him and wanted to be there to help him, when in actuality all she wanted to do was demean him and tell him how disappointed she was in him. She turned her back on him and would rather spend time with Paul over her own grandson. She did not care about him at all. He was her chance to do over what she couldn't do with his mom. And then she failed again.

"Marlena, hi", Paul greeted hesitantly.

Will just looked at his food. He could hear his father's voice in his head telling him to not let anyone get to him, to show them all he is better off without them. He decides to prove he _is_ better off without them.

Feeling Rocco's encouragement through his hand, Will takes a deep breath and turns to Marlena. "Hello, Marlena."

Will can see Marlena freeze for a second, the hurt spreading through her as the sound of him speaking her name. He had actually at first considered calling her "Dr. Evans", but felt that was a little too informal and polite for him. "Marlena" was the best she was going to get from him.

Marlena pursed her lips at Will. "I did not know you were in town."

Will stared at her. "I was not planning on telling anyone."

Will knew she was baiting him, waiting for him to make some kind of comment, but he refused to let her.

She sighed, wishing she knew how to have a real conversation with her grandson again. "How are you?"

"Fine", he said stiffly. He hoped that this conversation would not go too far, and he could feel Rocco getting ready to come up with an out for him to take. But before he could, Marlena asked a question that pushed too far.

"I heard you saw your father a while ago at your mother's place. That must have been nice to see all the kids and your parents."

Will snarled. "Yes, I saw the kids and my mom. But I have not seen my father in a few months, unfortunately. Luckily I have gotten a chance to talk to him before he died."

"But Lucas said…"

Will stood up and looked her straight in the eye. "Lucas Horton is not my father. My father was Stefano DiMera."

Marlena got that disappointed look in her eye again and pursed her lips. "I know you are still upset, Will, but you don't need to talk to me like that. Lucas is your father and he loves you very much."

Will laughed. "One, Marlena, don't talk to me like I am a child. I am a grown man. And two, Lucas does not love me and he is not my father. The only things Lucas and I have in common are DNA, and trust me, if I could find a way to change that I would. He doesn't love me. He tolerated me, and when I got to be too much, he threw me away like the rest of this town did."

"Now, stop that. That is not true, Will! We never threw you away."

"Oh really? So when Sonny left, you were all not so disappointed in me that you all basically abandoned me, chose anyone else's side over mine, and actually conspired to take Arianna away from me?! That all did not happen, huh?"

Marlena sighed. "Will, you need to look at the situation from our point of view."

Will mockingly laughed. " _Your point of view?!_ I need to look at the situation from your point of view?" He took a deep breath and focused himself. "Fine, let's do that. My grandson is struggling emotionally and financially after his husband leaves him and his daughter. He is struggling to keep his head above water, and instead of actually trying to listen to him or offer some real help and advice, I pretty much make him feel like he deserved all the pain he got. That he should probably give up his daughter, _his child_ , to someone else because anyone would be better suited to take care of Ari than her own father, who has raised her ever since she was born, and has been the one constant parent in her life. Is that the point of view I need to look at."

Before Will could keep going, and cause more of a scene than he already had, Rocco pulled Will back gently towards him and reminded him to breath. Paul shook himself out his stupor and told Marlena that he felt it was best that she leave.

Before she agreed, she looked over at Will and said, "No matter what you think, William Horton, I am your grandmother and your family. Your father does love you and was only doing what he thought was right."

He knew that he should walk away and let it all go, but he could not help it. He needed to make it clear to everyone who was hearing him who he was now.

"Let's get one thing clear. My name is William DiMera. Whatever was left of Will Horton died the night that Gabi and Ari did as well. The ONLY two men I consider to have ever been my father are both dead, and both are DiMeras. EJ was a father to me, and cared very much about me. Stefano, my father, he loved me and showed me the true meaning of family. They never looked down on me for anything that I did. They did everything they could to ensure I was able to keep custody of Arianna from anyone. Even after her death. Don't you dare tell me I don't understand anything, because I understand perfectly! And I am done being understanding!"

Realizing everyone in the town square was staring at them, Will turned and stalked away, angry at himself for letting Marlena Evans get to him the way that she did. He took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm himself down, but it was not working. Tears came to his eyes as he thought about how disappointed his father would be in him for causing a scene the way that he did. He let the people of this town get to him.

Hearing someone come up behind him, and assuming it was either Rocco or Paul, he turned and started to say, "Listen…" But it was not either Paul or Rocco.

Adrienne Kiriakis stood in front of Will. "You truly are a DiMera now, aren't you?"

Will only stared at Adrienne, the woman who made his life hell for most of his marriage to Sonny, and especially after Sonny left. She was the one who continued to encourage Lucas to take Arianna away from Will and made him feel worthless as a father. He stared at the woman in disgust, wanting nothing more than to continue to trash her and take her down. But he stopped himself.

Adrienne continued. "You have not changed, have you?"

Will shrugged. "Why would I?"

Adrienne scoffed. "I don't know why I thought you would."

Will just stared at her. Rocco approached from behind Adrienne and stared at Will, wondering if he needed assistance getting away from this woman, but Will only stared at Adrienne.

Adrienne looked over at Rocco. "Who is this?"

Will ignored her question. "What do you want, Adrienne?"

Adrienne sighed. "Why won't you let Sonny see Arianna's grave?"

Will stared at her incredulously. "Are you serious? That is what you want to talk about?"

"Yes! Sonny needs to be able to get closure and grieve properly, say goodbye to Ari."

"He said goodbye to her when he left town and gave no indication he was coming back!"

"You know why he had to leave! It was because of you! He loved that little girl; he deserves to be able to grieve as a father."

Will snarled. "Like you all allowed me to?"

Adrienne scoffed and threw her hands up. "Fine, punish all of us for hurting you! But don't punish Sonny because of what I did! Why are you doing that?"

Will laughed. "That is ironic coming from you!"

Adrienne stepped back. "What?"

"You really are priceless, Adrienne. You barely knew me, and yet you hated me from the second you heard that your precious Sonny was interested in me, because of who my mother was. You punished me and condemned me for crimes I had not committed yet."

"I was right about you though. I knew you were never going to be good enough for my son!"

"Congratulations, Adrienne, you were right. How does it feel?"

Adrienne did not say anything, and just stared down at Will. Paul, who had been listening to their conversation, decided to step in. "Adrienne, I think it is time for you to leave Will alone."

"No! Not until he agrees to give Sonny a chance to see Ari's grave!" She turned and looked pleadingly at Will. "Please, I am begging you."

"After everything you and Lucas have put me through, and what Victor has done, do you really expect me to just roll over and give you all what you want? Victor's harassment got so bad I had to leave the country just to recover!"

"I will get Victor to back down! If you agree to just let Sonny say goodbye to his little girl, I will get Victor to leave you alone."

"SHE WAS NOT HIS! Ari was not Sonny's little girl. She was my daughter with Gabi." Will's blood began to boil. "Everyone in this town loves to act like Ari was theirs and they were the ones who suffered when she died. SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER! I was the one who lost her and Gabi! I was the one who suffered when everything happened! And you all have no one else to blame but yourselves. Poor Sonny is suffering now? Where the hell was he when Ari needed him the most, huh? He certainly did not care about her then."

With that, Will turned and walked away, Paul and Rocco quickly following. Tears burned in Will's eyes and he felt his chest tightening, constricting his air flow. He bit his lip and kept walking, trying to force himself to calm down and not breakdown from the pain he was in. He could hear Paul calling out to him and trying to help him, but all he could think about was getting back to the mansion. He needed to get out of the park and back home.

* * *

That night, Will laid in bed and stared at the wall, going over everything that had happened. He had come stumbling back into the mansion and had gone straight out to see Ari's grave, ignoring Paul's and Chad's calls of concern. He needed to see it. It was almost like a comfort blanket, a calming device that he could focus on. Rocco stayed back and explained the situation to Chad, who was rightfully angry but knew this needed to happen. Both he and Rocco told Paul that they would take care of Will for now, and that he could come back later and check on him.

He could not stop hearing their voices or seeing their faces. Marlena's pursed lips of disappointment, Lucas' indignant voice proclaiming he was still Will's father, and then Adrienne shrieks of outrage.

 _Sonny needs to be able to get closure and grieve properly, say goodbye to Ari."_

 _"I was right about you though. I knew you were never going to be good enough for my son!"_

 _"You have not changed, have you?"_

 _"I will get Victor to back down if you agree to just let Sonny say goodbye to his little girl."_

He could not believe how everyone still held him at fault for everything that had happened, even now after they knew everything. They still all believed they had done the right thing and felt that he was the bad guy. They could not see why he would decide to fully commit to being a DiMera and not roll over for the Kiriakis'. All the pain he had endured, all the loss and suffering, none of that mattered to them. All they could think about was their poor white knight Sonny. Adrienne's words raced through his head again.

 _Sonny needs to be able to get closure and grieve properly, say goodbye to Ari."_

 _"I was right about you though. I knew you were never going to be good enough for my son!"_

 _"You have not changed, have you?"_

 _"I will get Victor to back down if you agree to just let Sonny say goodbye to his little girl."_

When that last thought raced through his mind, Will quickly sat up. Suddenly, the voices all quieted down, and everything became perfectly clear to him. He finally had the key to taking down Victor!

* * *

The next morning, Will placed a call to Richard Crane requesting that he write up a contract for Victor to sign. He also asked Mr. Crane to let him know the dollar amount of how much the stocks Victor owned of DiMera Enterprises was worth, and to indicate in the contract that Will would pay a one-time amount to Victor for all the stocks to be given over to Will. Mr. Crane was shocked at the phone call, but promised to get working on the contract right away. Will indicated he wanted everything ironclad, he did not want there to be any loopholes or chances that Victor could still weasel his way in or back out of the deal.

By 2 p.m. that afternoon, Richard Crane had finished putting together the contract with all the terms that Will had indicated. He was not completely surprised by the terms, as Stefano had indicated at one point that he knew what it would take to get Victor away from the company and had already instructions Richard to create this contract, but he was surprised at the timing. He had assumed it would be at least 6 months before Chad and Will came up with this idea and that there would have been a lot of negotiations. But Will indicated he wanted it clear that this was a one-time offer, and that there would be major consequences if this did not go through.

He called Will to let him know that the papers were all ready for him to review, and was surprised to find out that Will wanted him to bring them over right away to go over with Chad as well. But he obliged and by 2:45, he was again at the DiMera Mansion.

Chad was surprised when Richard Crane entered the office behind Will. "What's going on?"

Will took a deep breath. He was not sure how Chad was going to feel about the whole deal, especially considering everything he had done to ensure Will did not have to deal with Victor and the Kiriakis family ever again. "I asked Mr. Crane to come over because I came up with a plan to get Victor away from the company. Mr. Crane created a contract for us to take to Victor with a one-time offer deal."

Chad nodded, wary about where this was leading to. "Okay, what is it?"

Mr. Crane began reading the contract. "The contract states that Victor signs over all rights an interest in DiMera Enterprises and all subsidiaries connected to the company to Will for a small, one-time paid fee, and also agrees to drop any pending civil and criminal charges against Will stemming from the enterprise corruption scandal and company corporate espionage. Will continues to uphold his restraining order barring Victor's family from harassing him while he is in Salem and in Chicago as well. Victor will also be forced to relinquish control of any future deals that occur where DiMera Enterprises hold a controlling stake or interest over 51%."

Chad's eyes widened. This sounded like an impressive deal, but he knew there had to be a catch. "So what does Victor get in return for basically having to stay away from anything to do with the name DiMera."

Will sighed. "In return, I agree that, for one time only and up to 2 hours, Sonny can come over to the mansion and see Ari's grave, and say goodbye to her."

Chad jumped up immediately at that. "No! Will, what are you doing? No, that cannot happen."

Will sighed. He knew Chad would react this way. "Chad, it's okay. I have thought about this."

"No, it's not okay. After everything we did to make sure that none of them gets a chance to come over and see Ari, now you want to give them the opportunity?! No, no way."

"Not all of them, Chad! Just Sonny. Don't you see, this is perfect. Victor is forced to pretty much give up all chances of being able to take down this company; we can rise up against him and cut him off at the knees!"

"All you have to do is once again give in to poor Sonny Kiriakis."

Will sighed and looked at Richard Crane. "Mr. Crane, would you mind waiting in the living room for us? We need a moment."

Mr. Crane nodded and gathered up the papers, leaving the contract out for Will and Chad. "I will be just outside."

After he left, Will turned back to Chad. "Chad, I know you want to protect me, but this is a good deal."

Chad sighed and looked over the contract. It was an ironclad deal. It even stipulated that if Victor tried to break the deal or went after Will in any way, Chad and Will would personally sue him for up to $20 million dollars in damages and go after control of Titan Enterprises. The deal was definitely forcing Victor to give up a lot and agree to a lot, and was tipped in favor of Chad and Will. But Chad worried about the consequences of possibly letting Sonny back into Will's life again.

"I just don't want them to hurt you again, or try to get more from you."

Will sat on the chair in front of the desk. "They can't. Like I said, it is for one-time only, and it's only Sonny. He gets to see her grave and say goodbye, and we get everything we need to take Victor and Lucas and everyone else down."

Chad sat back and thought for a moment. He couldn't help but admire Will's tenacity and his willingness to do what was needed. He was worried about Will when he had come back the day before near a nervous breakdown after the confrontations he had in the town square, but it seemed as if those confrontations had actually motivated Will to figure out a way to get back at Victor. Stefano would be proud.

Chad took a deep breath. "Okay. But if we do this, I want to be there. I want to make sure you don't give them any more than what is offering on this paper. Don't let them try to guilt you or control you."

Will nodded. "I won't. I promise. I know you are worried about me, and I know that I let everything get to me yesterday. But Chad, this is a way to make me free of them as well. You said it yourself, Victor is probably never going to stop coming after me. And we could go months or years back and forth with him, trying to get him away from the company while everything else goes down around him. I don't want to start another war. This" he held up the contract, "could make sure that none of them could hurt me again and would show the world how powerful we are. We can take down Victor Kiriakis."

* * *

Victor Kiriakis walked smoothly into the living room of his mansion where Will and Chad were standing awaiting his presence. He had to admit he was curious about what they wanted when Chad had called to say that they wanted to offer him a deal, and he still had no answers. He had some idea that the two wanted to talk to him about getting his stocks and interest in DiMera Enterprises, but Victor had no interest in giving anything up. After what Will DiMera had put his grand-nephew through and continued to torment Sonny by not allowing Sonny the opportunity to grieve completely and say goodbye to the little girl he had helped bring into the world, Victor wanted every available resource to ensure these two were brought to their knees.

Henderson announced him. "Sir, Mr. Will DiMera and Mr. Chad DiMera."

Victor nodded. "Thank you, Henderson."

Henderson left and Victor turned back towards Chad and Will. He had to admit that Will definitely looked better than he had at the police station where he had been taken after Victor pressed charges against him. Victor knew those charges were stagnant, but could be brought up at any time, as soon as Victor had more proof. "I have to admit, I am surprised to see the two of you here."

Will spoke up. "I am sure you have some idea of why we are here."

Victor feigned ignorance. "Chad only said you two had a deal for me."

Chad pulled out the contract. "We do. We want you to sell all your interest and shares in DiMera Enterprises to Will, for a flat fee of course, and to agree to drop all pending and future charges against Will and DiMera Enterprises. You will also agree to relinquish any interest you have in deals or companies where DiMera Enterprises has a more than 51% controlling interest, and you do not oppose any restraining orders that Will has on you."

Victor laughed and stared at the two. "Oh, just that. Well sure, I pretty much get nothing and you boys get to keep me away from your company. Yes, of course, sounds like a good deal to me."

Will stared at Victor and grabbed the contract from Chad. "No, of course there will be something given to you in return." He pulled out a picture of Arianna, one of the last taken of her, and handed it to Victor. "In return for you doing all of this, I will let Sonny come see Ari's grave. For one-time only, up to two hours, Sonny will be able to say goodbye to Ari and get the closure you all claim he desperately needs."

Victor stared at Will and then the photo of Arianna in shock. This was a surprise. "So you decide to finally use your daughter as bait, huh? You really are a DiMera."

Chad reached out to stop Will from lunging himself at Victor, and took a deep breath. "No Victor. Will is willing to put aside his feelings and do what needs to be done."

Victor became incredulous. He could not believe what these two were actually trying to act like they were offering him. "This is blackmail!" He had watched Sonny try to grieve and move on, but the fact was that after he found out what happened, and was thrown out of the DiMera Mansion, he could not get himself to move forward. He barely spent any time in Salem, and drifted away from being the man that Victor knew Sonny could be. He would not let Will DiMera and Chad DiMera dangle something like this and think they could get away with everything.

Will spoke up. "No, it is a one-time offer deal. You get to give your beloved nephew what he apparently needs, and you agree to leave me and the company alone. Make no mistake, Victor, I am not going to be pushed around again. I want nothing to do with your family or anyone connected to your family. I want to be free."

Before Victor could say anything, another voice broke through. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?!"

The three men turned to see Adrienne Kiriakis walk in with Sonny standing next to her. The two looked shocked at the sight of Will and Chad standing in the middle of the living room at the Kiriakis Mansion.

Will kept his face blank as stone when he looked at Sonny, but he could still feel the anger and rage at the sight of his ex-husband. Sonny, in turn, looked like a deer in headlights and was unsure of what to make of the situation in front of him. What is the world were Will and Chad doing standing at the mansion with his uncle?

Chad realized this situation needed to end now. "You have our offer Victor. The deal is good for the next 24 hours. After that, it is off the table."

The two started to walk towards the door when Adrienne spoke up again. "Deal? What could you possibly offer to Victor?"

Chad did not say anything, but Will turned to look at Victor, "24 hours Victor."

Victor was not sure what to think. He needed more time and a way to figure out how to get around this. "I need more than just this! I am giving you everything, and you barely give me anything."

Will turned and stormed towards Victor. "Do not call what I am offering just "anything". I am offering you what you and Adrienne claim Sonny so desperately needs. There are no negotiations, no counter offers, nothing. You sign this document, sell me your shares of DiMera Enterprises, drop all charges against me, agree to stay away from our company, and I allow Sonny the opportunity to see Ari's grave and say goodbye to her."

Sonny gasped. "What... Uncle Vic?"

Adrienne spoke up as well. "Victor?"

Victor sighed. "If I signed this, when could we see her grave?"

"Once you sign it and it is formally notarized and filed with our lawyer, then we can set up a time for Sonny to come over and see Ari, and also set up plans for the transfer of the shares."

Adrienne turned to Will. "You are actually going to let us see Arianna?"

Will looked sharply at Adrienne. "No. I am going to let _Sonny_ see Ari's grave. Make no mistake; this deal is for Sonny only. No one else. If anyone else shows up, they will be turned away and the deal is off. And if you try to break the deal, there will be consequences Victor."

"But-but, what about the rest of us?"

Will shrugged. "What about you?"

Adrienne sputtered in outrage. "So we all don't get to heal, and Sonny has to continue to grieve alone?"

Will stared her down. "I grieved alone. You all would not let me heal. Why should I give Sonny something that none of you were willing to give to me? You were willing to let MY daughter be buried in another country where I would have no access to see her. You forced me to leave a place that was my home just so I could figure out a way to heal. Don't push it. This is the offer. Take or leave it, but make no mistake, if you leave it, it will never come again."

With that, Will and Chad walked out the door, leaving a stunned Adrienne and Sonny staring back at Victor.

* * *

When Will and Chad returned back to the mansion, they were startled to see Paul waiting for them in the living room.

"Hi" Paul said sheepishly.

Will stared back at him. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Paul sighed and looked at Chad. "I wanted to check on you. I wanted to see how you were doing after yesterday."

After what had just occurred, Will wasn't sure he was in the right frame of mind for company. But he had to admit it felt good that someone other than Chad and Rocco was worried about him and wanted to check on him.

Will smiled. "Do you want to go outside? It's nice out."

Paul smiled back. "Yeah, that would be nice."

Paul noticed that both Rocco and Chad did not look too happy about this, but he shrugged it off and followed Will through the living room and out the terrace. They walked out into the garden and stood along a stone wall with flowers and bushes around.

Paul turned to Will. "So, are you okay after yesterday?"

Will sighed. "I think so. It was not easy seeing Marlena and Adrienne again, but I guess it needed to happen eventually. I do feel bad that I freaked out and probably ruined your afternoon."

Paul smiled softly. "It's okay, I understand. I probably pushed too hard for you to do something you were not ready for, so I am sorry about that."

Will smiled. "It's not your fault. I needed to do that eventually. My counselor told me that I needed to start confronting my past and dealing with the issues of what happened."

"I did not know you were in counseling."

Will shrugged. "Not that big of a deal. I don't like to let a lot of people know."

"I can understand that. But I am here if you want to talk." He reached out to gently touch Will's arm, but Will flinched and stepped away.

Paul sighed and brought his arm back. Will bit his lip and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"My counselor said that I would probably have a hard time for a while letting people touch me, but it was normal. It is getting better. I used to not let anyone get within 5 feet of me."

Paul stared at Will. "You don't seem to have that problem with Rocco."

Will looked at Paul startled. "What?"

"Rocco. You don't seem to have that problem with Rocco touching you or being close to you. Same with Chad."

Will shrugged, but stared at Paul carefully. "Chad is my brother and he has been there for me through everything. He knows what I have been through. Rocco may not have been there through everything, but he understands. I trust him."

Paul nodded. "I'm glad you have people like that in your life."

"Me too. I don't think I would be able to get through everything without them."

"You would. You are strong Will."

Will shrugged. "I don't know."

Paul decided to give Will a little advice. "I might be completely out of line here, but I do care about you Will and I want to be your friend. Don't close yourself off to the possibility that something better is waiting for you. Your life may be complicated, but you do have people who understand and care about you."

* * *

At the same time as the conversation between Will and Paul, Rocco had been staring out the window the whole time at the two. He forced himself to stay back and not interfere, but it was really hard to.

He was startled when Chad spoke up. "He okay?"

Rocco shrugged. "He seems to be."

Chad looked out the window and stared at Will and Paul talking. "He will be. Even if he isn't now, he will be. He is strong, stronger than probably most of us give him credit for. And he has us."

Rocco looked at Chad curiously. "I thought you were too worried about him relying too much on me."

Chad shrugged. "I still am. But I also know that you won't let anything hurt or happen to Will. You know what he is capable of. And I also know that you understand the way the world is." He gestured out to Paul. "He will probably seem okay with different things, but he is too much like Sonny. He will eventually want Will to be a good person and try to make amends with the town. You won't put him in that position. You would be okay with him doing what he did earlier today and making deals, blackmailing people to get what we want. You know when a situation is too much for him. I can't be the reason why he loses one of the few peop0le who truly understand him in this world."

Chad walked away, leaving a stunned Rocco standing there. He quickly turned back to Rocco before he left. "When the time comes, and Will is ready, you will help me look into getting him a new bodyguard. Will probably won't be okay with being in a relationship with someone who also works for him." He then shrugged. "I could be wrong though."

Rocco turned back from Chad to see Will and Paul walking back towards the mansion. He walked away from the window and out to the foyer, not wanting it to look like he was spying on Will. He could not get the last thing Chad said out of his head. He did not want anyone else working for Will or watching him. Rocco knew he could do a good enough job of making sure that no one would hurt Will ever again. He knew _he_ would never let Will hurt again. Even if that meant he would never be with Will. He could live with that.

Will walked Paul to the door and held it open for him. "I really appreciate you coming by."

Paul smiled. "It's no problem. I know you have a lot to deal with and a lot going on, but I would really like to be your friend, Will."

Will smiled. "I remember talking about gay guys being friends a long time ago."

Paul laughed. "Yeah, well now there is no reason for you to try and get some other guy to seduce me."

Will laughed genuinely. Paul's eyes flickered over to Rocco, and then he stepped out the door. "Remember what I said, Will. There is someone out there right for you."

Will nodded and closed the door, not really sure what to think or feel. Rocco looked over at Will concerned and asked, "Are you okay?"

Before Will could answer, Chad came rushing in. "Victor accepted our offer. The papers will be signed tomorrow."

* * *

One week later, Sonny Kiriakis took a deep breath to calm himself from his nervousness over being at the DiMera Mansion again. The last time he was here, Will had attacked him and he realized the truth of everything that happened. He was not completely happy about the fact that his uncle had been pretty much blackmailed into giving up his share of DiMera Enterprises and forced to leave Will alone in order for Sonny to get this one opportunity, but Sonny decided that he was not going to waste it. If he was only getting two hours to see his daughter one last time and say goodbye, he was going to make the most out of it.

Chad opened the door when Sonny knocked and the two former business partners stared down each other.

Sonny sighed. "You going to let me in, or do I have to force myself in?"

Chad only took a step back to open the door wider. "Follow me."

He led Sonny through the living room and over to the terrace doors. Chad was not happy about this. Despite the fact that everything was turning in their favor, Chad was still worried. The shares had been transferred over after Will had the money wired to Victor, and they had gotten word that all pending investigations and charges against Will and DiMera Enterprises had been dropped. But Will had been way too quiet. Chad knew this was going to be hard on his brother.

He opened the terrace doors. "Will is waiting for you by her grave." Sonny nodded, but before he could head out, Chad warned, "We are watching you. Don't ruin your one shot."

Sonny angrily glared at Chad, but held his tongue. He wanted to enjoy every minute of the two hours he was getting, and could not afford to waste anything arguing with Chad. It would get him nowhere.

He walked out into the garden and towards the tree that Will was standing at. As he got closer and closer though, his feet felt heavy. He was nervous about seeing Ari's grave. What could he possibly say to the little girl he had thought of as his own?

He did not pay any attention to Will at first when he stopped at the grave. He stared at the tombstone and bit his lip at the sight of the name on it. ARIANNA GRACE. It still did not seem real to him. How could this all still be real? He had not seen her in two years, and yet the tombstone was what made him realize that Arianna Grace was really gone from the world.

He knelt down and touched the letters. "Hey baby girl."

Will stiffened at the sound of Sonny's voice, but forced himself to stay calm. "I am going to wait in the garden. Enjoy your time."

* * *

Two hours later, Will came back to Sonny. "Time is up."

Sonny sighed. He wanted to ask if he could have more time, but knew that most likely he was not going to get it. What he did get was worth it though.

He stood in front of Will and took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Will only stared at him and nodded. He took a deep breath and said, "I will walk you out."

"Wait", Sonny said, reaching out. "Can we please talk?"

Before Sonny could grab Will's arm, Will flinched and snapped, "Don't touch me."

Sonny got startled at the venom in Will's voice and held his hands up. "Whoa."

Will took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. "There is nothing for us to talk about. I held up my end of the deal, now your uncle will leave me alone."

"Hey! How could you say we have nothing to talk about? After everything, you owe me this. And don't act like this was such a hardship on you!"

"I owe you nothing, Sonny! You took everything that I had to give. And yes, this was a hardship on me. You have no idea what I have been through the past few years, and you have no idea what it means for me to be able to let you see her."

"That was not my fault, okay? I am sorry I was not there, but don't act like I took off for no reason. And you let me see her? I have every right to see her!"

"No you don't!" Will sighed and then scoffed. "Poor Sonny, could not take being married to the horrible Will anymore. Well, you got your wish. You are free. Now you and your family can leave me alone!"

Sonny sighed. "After everything Will, this is how we end? I get one chance to say goodbye and this is it?"

"Yes! What is so hard for all of you to understand! I gave you what you wanted!"

"You blackmailed my Uncle Vic in order to give me this! You used Ari as a bargaining chip!"

"DO NOT call my daughter a bargaining chip! Do not ever act like I am using her as some tool or whatever to get back at you! You have no idea what I have been through Sonny. You have no idea what it is like, day after day, to be stalked, have no idea what is going to happen next, lose basically most of my family, and then, the two bright spots in my life, Gabi and Ari, are taken away from me!"

Will turned away from Sonny and took a few deep breaths, trying to get himself to calm down. He did not want to break down in front of Sonny Kiriakis. He had done enough.

"Will, can we please just talk? Like we used to?"

Will turned and stared at Sonny. "No. I am done. I gave you everything, and you have only treated me like I was scum. I made mistakes, but I did not deserve the way you treated me. Or your family. So now, I am officially done. I want nothing more than to never, ever see your sorry face again. My one wish is that I can go the rest of my life without ever hearing the name Sonny Kiriakis again."

Staring at Will's face with tears in his eyes, and realizing the finality of Will's statement, Sonny nodded and turned to walk up to mansion. He knew this would most likely be the last time he ever saw Ari or Will again.

* * *

Will sighed after Sonny left, staring at his daughter's grave. He felt so drained after the confrontation, but at the same point, he felt good. He finally was able to get off his chest all the hurt and pain Sonny had caused him. He was finally ready to say goodbye to that part of his life.

He turned when he heard footsteps approaching and smiled when he saw Rocco.

"Hey."

Rocco stared at him softly. "You okay?"

Will sighed and shrugged. "I guess so. I am not sure what I was expecting to get out of this, but to be honest I never thought I would ever see Sonny again."

"You did not have to do all that. Chad could have found another way."

Will did not say anything to that. He partially knew it was true, that he did not have to put himself through all of this turmoil. But maybe he did. Maybe it was necessary.

Rocco decided to change the subject, even though he felt uneasy about it. "At least you seem to be able to reconnect with that Paul guy."

Will looked up at Rocco curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Just that at least now you will have a friend when you come back to town. Or while you are here. He seems like a nice guy, and maybe he could be good for you."

Will wrinkled his nose. "I am not sure how I feel about someone being good for me. People used to say that about Sonny."

Rocco's face dropped, worried he had said something that went too far. "Oh, then maybe it is just nice knowing someone in this town who cares about you."

Will smiled. "Yeah, it is nice knowing that someone in this town does not hate me who is not blood related to me." He paused and then stared at Ari's grave. "But I don't know how much time I will actually spend with Paul."

"Oh?"

Will nodded. "He is too loosely connected to my past. I am not sure I will ever get to a point where I can be okay with everyone in this town, and he wants to be. And I don't think he will ever be able to understand me the way I need someone to. How after everything that happened, I still have a hard time beign touched or can't deal with crowds. Not many people can handle what I need or are able to deal with my life." He looked softly at Rocco. "The way that you do."

Rocco was hardly ever startled or surprised in his life. It was his job to expect the unexpected. And yet, the way Will looked at his caused his heart to race and his mouth to become dry. "The way that I do?"

Will nodded. "Besides Chad, the only person I truly trust with my life is you, Rocco. You know everything about me, and you don't care. You know when I need space, and when I need an escape. You know the boundaries of where to touch me, and you never pressure me to do more than I want to."

He stepped closer to Rocco. "I am in no shape to be in a relationship with anyone. I don't know when and if I will ever be able to handle a relationship, something more than what we already have now. But if I was, Rocco, it would always be you. You are the only one I see who could ever fit into my future."

Rocco smiled and reached up, gently touching Will's face and smiling when Will did not flinch. He knew he could not kiss Will, that Will was nowhere near ready for that. But the smile on Will's face was enough. "I would wait for you. You are worth it."

Those words, to Will, were all he needed. He leaned into Rocco's hand and took a deep breath. "Let's go back to Chicago."

Rocco nodded. Nothing was really fixed, and Will had a long way to go and heal. But there was a calm surrounding him. He had the people he needed in his life. And when he closed his eyes, he could still see Ari's smile.

* * *

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